Yes you read it right! Couple of months back when we had a visitor from our US office, I was requested to cook for the entire staff along with our guest who is a Mexican. She prepared a Mexican rice dish and a delicious salad. I once made Channa Pulao and that lead to cooking an entire meal for the staff. We are about 100 of us and planning an entire meal was really tough, not to mention scary for me.
But with a supportive team, we got it right. This time round since it was going to be for evening, plus being just one dish, I thought I could easily manage myself. I had the cook to assist me of course. It was utterly fun. And the Mexican dishes turned out superb too. Will be sharing those two recipes soon.
Since the cooking had to be done in one shot, I had to choose something that can be cooked and simply mixed. I was planning to make Karuvapillai Sadam / Curry Leaves Rice. But it was a period even getting a twig of Curry leaves was proving to be toughest task for us. So there was no question any vendor sparing us 14 kg of those leaves.I got it confirmed with Amma on the amount of leaves I will have to use. Even if I can measure the quantity, I feel happy confirming with her. It always feels like we are planning a grand extravaganza!
I finally settled on Kothamalli Sadam, hoping we will be able to source this in bulk from the main market. I requested for those herbs to be bought ahead, fearing their unavailability. We were supposed to serve at 5 but I ended up starting the process only at about 3 pm or later. Since we had those other two dishes being prepared, time simply flew. Plus the distraction of others dropping in to check what's happening, made sure we crossed the decided time.
Well I am talking about cooking 7 kilos of rice, that used nearly 15 huge bunches of Coriander leaves. Anyway when you cook for 4, this hardly takes time and very quick to get done.
Coriander Rice ~ Kothamalli Sadam
Please excuse the pictures as the lighting was bad in our office pantry and I was trying to manage clicking pictures with a messy hand, while stirring the pot literally!
For 100 people, I used about 7 kilo of rice, 15 Bunches of Coriander leaves, 2 bunches of Mint leaves, 500 gms of Green chilies, 250 gms of Whole Coriander Seeds, 100 gms of Whole peppercorns. I actually ended up using only 5 kgs of rice, and shared some of the coriander leaves with my colleague for her dish.
Serving for 4 you can use this measurement.
Coriander Rice
Ingredients Needed
Rice - 2 cups
Coriander leaves - 2 big bunches
Mint leaves - 1 cup tightly packed
Green chillies - 4 -5 medium
Whole Coriander seeds - - 2-3 tbsp
Whole Peppercorns- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Roasted Cashew nuts for garnishing.
Method to prepare:
Trim and wash the leaves, let it drain aside.
Wash and soak the rice for 15 mins. Once done pan cook the rice with 4 cups of water and keep it aside.
Roast both the coriander seeds and peppercorn separately and powder to a fine texture.
Grind the leaves with using very minimal water. Since you will have to get a thick paste you should not use lot of water. Sieve to ensure you don't get the fiber. Grind Green chilies separately.
Heat a pan with 3 tsp of oil, add the paste, major amount of the chili paste. Cover it with a lid and continue cooking. It takes about 10 mins, you will have to keep stirring in middle so that the bottom doesn't get burnt.
Increase the spice if you require too. Once the paste comes out real thick, remove from flame.
Mix this paste directly to the cooked rice, add the ground coriander and pepper powder. Adjust the taste with salt.
Add some cashews to the rice and mix well. Finally garnish with roasted nuts on the top.
Serve with papad.
Notes:
Grinding the Green chilies separately is best as you can always add more if required.
Same goes for the coriander and peppercorn powder.
Rice has to be cooked as grains and mushy.
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