After years of perfecting her biryani recipe and hours sweating it out in a hot kitchen, Phoenix’s Simmi Ramnarian has cooked her way to the top, winning the title of Allsome Biryani Champion.
This culinary contest was run on East Coast Radio (ECR) with the winner announced after an on-air tasting on Friday, August 3.
“I am just so excited, I can’t believe it!” said the ecstatic Simmi, after being awarded the championship title.
“I didn’t know what to expect on the day but I’d prepared my biryani as I always do, from the heart and made with love!”
No stranger to competitive cooking, Simmi has just come off The Great South African Bake Off where she placed in the top three for her cooking skills.
“I saw the Allsome Biryani Champion on Facebook but didn’t want to enter another contest so soon. Then I got tagged by lots of people so I entered and was chosen!”
The Phoenix resident is renowned for her delicious chicken biryani – a spicy rice dish – which she prepares using her homemade ginger and garlic paste, and crushed spices.
“I usually prepare all my ingredients once a month, because it takes so much time, and it just so happened that this was the week I was doing my preparations. It just all fell into place!
"I’m really passionate about cooking and believe it’s important to prepare something that you’d want to eat yourself.”
How to make Simmi’s chicken biryani
Ingredients
2 large onions - finely chopped
100ml Sunfoil Canola oil
200g butter
4 green chilies. sliced
50 ml crushed ginger and garlic
40ml garam masala
100ml mixed masala
1.2 kg chicken pieces
10ml crushed elachie (cardamon)
mint
dhania (coriander)
thyme
salt to taste
yellow food colouring
3 potatoes, quartered (colour with yellow food colouring)
150ml frozen peas
500ml Allsome rice
150ml masoor dhall
Method
Steam Allsome rice and masoor, add salt to taste, and cook for 15 minutes. Strain.
In a large pot add Sunfoil Canola oil and 100g butter. Fry potatoes for 10 minutes and remove – setting aside.
Sauté 1 onion, chillies ginger, garlic and thyme until fragrant.
Add the masala, garam masala, elachie and chicken pieces. Add salt to taste.
Simmer for 20 minutes on medium heat.
Add the frozen peas and stir in steamed rice.
Add 3ml food colouring. Sprinkle with dhania and mint and stir well.
Add the potatoes. Add 100ml water. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour.
To serve: Fry onion in the 100g butter till golden and pour over biriyani. Sprinkle with more dhania and mint.
Enjoy!
Cook’s tips
“I grind my own garlic and ginger. I add curry leaves, chilli and thyme to garlic and ginger and grind to a paste," says Simmi.
"I also make my own garam masala by roasting jeera, dhania, bay leaves, black and green elachie, soomph, cinnamon and grind to a powder.”