Erachi Choru (Authentic Kerala Recipe)
Enjoy the delightful flavors of Erachi Choru, a traditional Kerala dish that pairs perfectly spiced beef with aromatic rice. This dish’s rich flavors and textures are the perfect way to impress guests and families, as every bite is flavor-packed. And you’ll be surprised to hear that it’s all cooked in one pot!
Step by Step Video Instructions
Ingredients
Beef: Choose beef shank or chuck for their robust flavors and textures that become wonderfully tender when cooked. Cutting the beef into uniform pieces ensures even cooking and optimal absorption of the spices.
Rice: While Jeera Samba rice is traditional for its aromatic qualities and unique flavor, Basmati rice can be an excellent alternative.
Spices: Essential to Erachi Choru are the spices – cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, fennel seeds, and shahi jeera (black cumin). Using whole spices where possible will add a more intense and authentic flavor to the dish.
Ginger, Garlic, and Green Chilies: These aromatic, fresh ingredients are ground into a flavorful paste. If you don’t like much heat, you can remove the seeds and membranes from the chilies beforehand.
Coconut Oil and Ghee: The combination of coconut oil and ghee adds richness and more layers of flavor to the dish, with coconut oil introducing a subtle sweetness and ghee providing a creamy, nutty essence.
Lime: A squeeze of lime juice towards the end of cooking not only enhances the flavors but also adds a zesty, refreshing note, balancing the richness of the beef and spices.
Cilantro: Freshly chopped cilantro is used both within the dish and as a garnish, offering a splash of color and a light, herbaceous lift.
Expert Tips
Blending the Paste: If you encounter difficulty getting a smooth blend of ginger, garlic, and green chilies, add a little water to the mixture in the blender.
Utilizing a Spider Strainer for Beef: To efficiently separate cooked beef from its broth, use a spider strainer or a fine sieve. These tools help keep the broth clear of solids, which is crucial for precisely measuring the liquid used to cook the rice,
Preparing the Rice: Before adding the rice, drain the soaking liquid. This helps remove some of the starch and assists in more accurately measuring the liquid needed to cook the rice.
Storage and Leftovers
Once the Erachi Choru has cooled to room temperature, transfer it into an airtight container and refrigerate. Properly stored, it will maintain its freshness and flavor for up to 3 days.
To reheat, cover the Erachi Choru in a microwave-safe container and heat for 2 minutes on medium power. Then, continue reheating in 30-60 second intervals, stirring between each, until it’s thoroughly hot.
FAQs
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can cook the beef in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Note that the cooking time will be longer; simmer the beef until it’s tender, which may take up to 4 hours over a slow simmer.
To control the heat, modify the amount of green chilies used in the paste. Removing the seeds or reducing the number of chilies will lessen the spiciness, while adding more will increase it.
Basmati rice or jasmine rice are good substitutes for Jeera samba in this recipe. The fragrant aroma makes them a suitable choice, adding more flavor than standard rice.
More Recipes You May Like:
- Beef & Bacon Upma
- Indian Ground Beef Recipe (Kheema Pav)
- Chicken Ghee Roast
- Beef Tongue Dal
- Pork Vindaloo (Authentic Indian Recipe)
Erachi Choru (Authentic Kerala Recipe)
Ingredients
- 15 g Ginger roughly chopped
- 15 g Garlic Cloves
- 4 Green Chilies
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Cardamom Pods
- 5 Cloves
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
- 1 tsp Shahi Jeera Black Cumin
- 10 Curry Leaves
- 200 g Red Onion
- 150 g Tomato chopped
- ½ tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Cilantro Powder
- 1 handful Cilantro chopped (plus extra for garnish)
- 750 g Beef Shank or Chuck cut into chunks
- 400 g Jeera Samba Rice or Basmati Rice
- ½ tbsp Lime Juice
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a blender or using a mortar and pestle, blend ginger, garlic, and green chilies into a smooth paste. Set aside.
- In a pressure cooker, heat coconut oil and 1 tbsp ghee. Once hot, add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, shahi jeera, fennel seeds, and 150g of red onion. Sauté until onions soften.
- Add the ginger-garlic-chili paste and curry leaves. Sauté for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric powder, and cilantro powder. Cook for another minute.
- Add beef, season with salt, and sear. Add 2 cups of water and half of the cilantro. Pressure cook for 30 minutes or until the beef is tender. In the meantime soak the rice in a bowl.
- After the beef is cooked, remove it from the cooker with a strainer to separate the beef from the stock. Pour the stock into a jug and add water to make up 4 cups of liquid.
- In a pot heat the remaining 1 tbsp ghee. Sauté 50g of red onions until softened. Add the cooked beef and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the rice, beef stock-water mixture, salt, and remaining cilantro. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the rice steam for an additional 5 minutes.
- Stir in lime juice and fluff the rice with a fork. Serve the Erachi Choru garnished with extra cilantro.
