Food plating and presentation

From my perspective food plating and presentation is really important .We first,eat through our eyes only after it follows the smell and the taste . So ,make sure your plate  look delicious too ....

Some of the plating techniques I have read through :

1. Give colours to your plate  gives life to your plate - Plated food should have balnced and contrasting colours.

2. Give different textures : Pair the food with smoother texture (ex:Sauce) to Harder or coarser texture (ex :Pasta)

3 .Using shapes & proportions appropriately : Main dish or main component in the plate should be the largest on the plate and should draw attention over it than the other accompaniments .

4.Arrangement View : The plated food should have a natural focal point and should draw attention to the needful in the plate .

5.Use appropriate plates & bowls.

These are few tips and tricks for Presentation of your food . I am exploring some presentation techniques and once mastered will get back soon.

Tropical fruit island

Biryani

Fruit Kebabs

Veg Salad

My Signature Dish : Kozhikode chicken biryani

Kozhikode chicken biryani-1

                             

Kozhikode Chicken Biryani-2

 

 Ingredients:

For Rice:
Seeraga samba rice/Basmati rice -250 gm (Soaked for 15 mins if samba rice and 1/2 to 1 hr for basmati)
Ghee/Clarified butter - 1 to 2 tbsp
Cinnamon - 5 to 6 pcs
Bay leaf- 1 no
Star Anise -1 no
Cloves-4 to 5 nos
Cardamom seeds - 4 to 5 nos
Chopped onion -1 (medium to large)
Curry leaves/Coriander leaves -few
Biryani Essence/Rose water - 3 to 4 drops

Chicken Marination:(Grind)
Chicken - 1/2 kg
Curd/Yoghurt -1/2 cup
Coriander leaves- 25 gm
Mint leaves - 25 gm
Curry leaves -few
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds powder - 1tsp
Garlic - 20 gm
Ginger- 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Lime juice - 1tsp
Poppy seeds paste - 1 tsp

For Biryani masala :
Ghee - 1 to 2 tbsp (Substitute with 1 tsp oil+ 1 tsp ghee)
Cinnamon - 5-6 nos
Bay leaf- 1 no
Cloves - 4-5 nos
Cardamom seeds - 4 to 5 nos
Nutmeg - 1 no (Grated using grater)
Onions-100 gm
Tomato chopped - 1 no

For Garnishing:
Boiled egg
Roasted Cashewnuts & Raisins
Fried onions
Chopped coriander leaves

Method:
1 . Grind the coriander, mint leaves , Garlic, Ginger ,curry leaves , cumin seeds , coriander seeds powder ,Turmeric powder and poppy seeds .You can add little amount of curd to grind it in to a paste.Now mix the paste with curd and lime juice and marinate the chicken and keep it for an hr.


For Rice:
Stove-top method:
1.  Heat ghee in a pan add cinnamon , cardamom seeds , cloves , bay leaf ,Star anise , nutmeg and     curry/coriander leaves  .
2. Then add onions and saute till they become translucent .
3 . Add water and bring it to boil.Add biryani/rose water essence to it.
4. Now add the soaked rice and cook till its done.

Microwave method:
1. Heat ghee in microwave safe bowl and add cinnamon , cardamom seeds , cloves , bay leaf ,Star anise , nutmeg and curry./coriander leaves  and keep it for a min on high.
2.Add onions to it and keep high for 2 to 3 mins.The time varies depending on your microwave.
3.Now add water to it .I added 4 cups of water for 2 cups of Rice. Add  biryani/rose water essence to it. Do not cover the bowl as it would drain of the water quickly leaving the rice uncooked.
4 . It took about 15 to 20 mins to cook in my microwave.

For Biryani Masala :
1. Meanwhile,till the rice gets cooked  , heat ghee in a pan  add cinammon , bay leaf , cardamom seeds , nutmeg , cloves and saute for a min.Now add chopped onions and saute till brown .Then add choped tomatoes and saute .
2. Add the marinated chicken in it and cook until it has become a semi gravy consistency .

Layering process :
1. Layer the rice and chicken masala alternatively .

Dum process:

Ready for dum(cover it with cling film)

Eventhough , the original recipe never called for the dum process ,I prefer to keep biryani in dum before serving it to enhance the flavours.
There are several ways of dum process but I prefer easy way to microwave.

--Take a microwave safe dish and layer the biryani with rice and chicken masala . Wrap the bowl with the cling film and microwave for 45 mins on high.
-Remove the dish from microwave.Let it stand for a minute.
-Garnish with Chopped cilantro , Raisins, cashewnuts and fried onions.

Note:
1. You can clean and marinate the chicken with Lime juice and ginger garlic paste prior to grinding and omit these in the process .
2 .Biryani tastes good when you marinate the chicken overnight before but make sure you add only little of lime juice and yoghurt  because it might be tangy  if you add the whole.