Kannur-special chicken kalmas

Image: Ganga Srikanth

Ever heard of kalmas? For those not familiar with the word, it’s a Kannur special snack, the varieties of which come out when it’s time to break the Ramadan fast. It’s also made on special occasions. One could call the kalmas another version of the 'kozhukatta'. Kalmas can be made with egg, chicken, beef and prawns.

Ingredients
1 cup raw rice
1¼ cup water
Salt as required
1 teaspoon
¼ cup shredded coconut
6 shallots
½ teaspoon aniseed (perumjeera)
2 tablespoon maida
400 gm chicken
2 big onions
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic crushed
1 sprig curry leaves
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chilly powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon garam masala powder
A handful of chopped coriander leaves
2+ 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 tablespoon red chilly powder
1 tablespoon powdered rice
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
Green chillies as required

Preparation
Wash raw rice thoroughly, keep it soaked for about four hours and then grind it to a fine paste with ½ a cup of water
Mix the paste once again with ¾ cup of
You will need 1¼ cups of water for this mix
Shift the ground raw rice mix into a thick bottomed vessel
Add some ghee and salt and cook the mixture over a moderate flame till it thickens to a smooth dough
Mix shredded coconut, shallots and aniseed and grind it to a rough mix and add it to the rice mix along with maida
Mix well till it turns into a thick dough
Pressure cook the chicken along with turmeric powder, salt and ¼ cup of water for up to two whistles
When cool, de-bone chicken and give it a mixie-shred
In another pan, sauté chopped big onions, crushed ginger and garlic, green chillies and curry leaves
The masala powders can be added once the shallots are well seasoned
Saute the mix till the raw smell of the masalas no longer lingers
Add in the shredded chicken and salt and sauté once again till the whole mix is completely dry
Turn off the flame and spread in the coriander leaves
Make small balls of the prepared rice mix, pat them into small cups and add in the chicken mix
Seal in the sides and roll them again in the shape of unnakayas
Now steam them for about 20 minutes over a moderate flame
The next step is to make a thick batter with a teaspoon each of rice flour, chilly powder and garam masala powder
The final step is to shallow fry the rolled kalmas
In a pan pour in two tablespoons of either coconut oil or ghee, roll the kalmas in the batter and fry them till they turn crisp on both sides
Kannur kalmas is now ready for the kill!

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