How to make Kidu Rice Set Menu with Kaliya Curry
Kidu Rice is a popular Rice Dish that is made in a special way by placing the Rice and all of the side dishes that accompany it on top of a Banana Leaf which is placed inside a cooked Areca Leaf. The side dishes would be placed around the Rice in the Banana Leaf. The Areca Leaf is then folded and tied together to hold everything in and then only untied when it is time to serve. This is a popular dish amongst our Sri Lankan Muslim community.
The main Rice Dish that is popular for Kidu Rice is Ghee Rice and it is accompanied by the main side curry which is called Kaliya Curry that is made from Potatoes, Brinjal, and Ash Plantains. The Ghee Rice is topped off with chopped Peanuts, Cashews, and Raisins.
Besides the Kaliya Curry, other great side dishes that go with Kidu Rice is Mango Curry, Green Sambol, a mouth watering Malay Achcharu, a thickened Dhal Curry, and a meat curry like Chicken or Prawn Curry.
When making the Kaliya Curry, we added a piece of Chicken Liver which is how they make it in the Madras region of India. Traditionally, Roasted Curry Powder is not added to the Kaliya Curry but because we added the Chicken Liver, we added the Roasted Curry Powder as well. Another difference from the traditional way is that we added some Sugar to the Kaliya Curry which will improve the taste.
Some other tasty side dishes that go with this Kidu Rice are my Ambarella Chutney and my 7 types of Achcharu recipes.
Ingredients
- 750g of Samba Rice (or any variety you like)
- 3 tbsp of Ghee
- 2 crushed Garlic Cloves
- Diced Onion
- Rampe (Pandan Leaf)
- Piece of Cinnamon
- Crushed Cardamom
- Cloves
Kaliya Curry
- 2 Potatoes
- 3 Brinjal
- 2 Ash Plantains
- Curry Leaves
- 2 sliced Green Chilies
- Chicken Liver (optional)
- Piece of Rampe (Pandan Leaf)
- Sliced Onion
- Toasted Fenugreek Seeds
- 2 tsp of Chili Powder
- Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp of Pepper
- 1 tbsp of Roasted Curry Powder (only if you add Chicken Liver)
- Salt
- 1.5 tsp of Sugar (optional)
- Coconut Milk
Mango Curry
- 4 Raw Mangoes
- 2 sliced Green Chilies
- Curry Leaves
- Rampe (Pandan Leaves)
- Half a diced Onion
- Toasted Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 tbsp of Chili Powder
- 1 tsp of Pepper
- 1 tbsp of Roasted Curry Powder
- Salt
- Coconut Oil
- Half a chopped Onion
- 3 crushed Garlic Cloves
- Mustard Seeds
- Curry Leaves
- 150g of Jaggery (or some Sugar)
- Caramelized Sugar
- Crushed Cardamom
- Crushed Cloves
- Piece of Cinnamon
Instructions
- Add enough Water as you need into a Rice Cooker.
- Wash and add 750g of Samba Rice (you can use any variety of Rice you like).
- Add some Cloves.
- Add a piece of Cinnamon.
- Add some crushed Cardamom.
- Add some crushed Cloves.
- Cook the Rice in the Rice Cooker.
- In a saucepan, heat 3 tbsp of Ghee over medium heat.
- Add 2 crushed Garlic Cloves.
- Add a diced Onion.
- Fry these ingredients together until it is a golden color.
- Now add this mixture into the Rice Cooker along with the Ghee Oil.
- Stir and cook the Rice.
- Once the Rice is cooked, add a piece of Rampe (Pandan Leaf).
Kaliya Curry
- Peel 2 Potatoes.
- Cut the Potatoes into squares.
-
Deep fry the Potatoes until it is a golden color.
- Cut 3 Brinjal into squares.
- Deep fry the Brinjal until it is a golden color. Important: You can add mix the Brinjal with Turmeric and Salt if you're going to fry it later.
- Cut 2 Ash Plantains into squares.
- Deep fry the Ash Plantains.
- After frying these 3 ingredients, add the ingredients on top of a paper towel so that any excess Oil is removed.
- Add the fried Potatoes, Brinjal, and Ash Plantain into a pot and mix together.
- Add some Curry Leaves.
- Add 2 sliced Green Chilies.
- Add a piece of Chicken Liver (optional, it is common in Madras region of India).
- Add a piece of Rampe (Pandan Leaf).
- Add a sliced Onion.
- Add some toasted Fenugreek Seeds.
- Add 2 tsp of Chili Powder.
- Add some Turmeric Powder.
- Add 1 tsp of Pepper.
- Add 1 tbsp of Roasted Curry Powder (only if you add Chicken Liver).
- Add Salt to taste.
- Add 1.5 tsp of Sugar (optional).
- Add Coconut Milk until everything is covered.
- Give it a stir.
- Cook over medium heat until the Curry has thickened to your liking.
Mango Curry
- Peel 4 Raw Mangoes.
- Remove the Seed from the Mangoes.
- Cut the Mangoes in halves.
- Then cut the Mangoes to squares.
- Add the Mangoes into a pot.
- Add 2 sliced Green Chilies.
- Add some Curry Leaves.
- Add some Rampe (Pandan Leaves).
- Add half a diced Onion.
- Add some toasted Fenugreek Seeds.
- Add 1 tbsp of Chili Powder.
- Add 1 tsp of Pepper.
- Add 1 tbsp of Roasted Curry Powder.
- Add Salt to taste.
- Mix the ingredients together.
- Heat some Coconut Oil in a saucepan over medium heat to make a tempered mixture.
- Add half a chopped Onion.
- Add 3 crushed Garlic Cloves.
- Add some Mustard Seeds.
- Add some Curry Leaves.
- Stir frequently and lightly fry these ingredients together until it is a golden color.
- Once the tempered mixture is lightly fried, add the Mango mixture we prepared earlier.
- Now mix in some Water to the pot that had the Mango mixture so that it can absorb any residue spices.
- Pour the Water into the pot with the tempered and Mango mixture.
- Add 150g of diced Jaggery (or you can add some Sugar).
- Add some Caramelized Sugar so that the Curry has a nice color.
- Add some crushed Cardamom.
- Add some crushed Cloves.
- Turn the heat down to low and cook until the Curry is thickened to your liking.
- Once the Mango curry has thickened, add a piece of Cinnamon.
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