Recipe for kuska, tamil hotel style kuska rice recipe. Kuska gravy made with homemade chicken stock made from scratch.
Kuska / kushka – The tamil style kuska recipe is usually understood as biryani minus the meat. In many restaurants its often referred as MT-Biryani (empty biryani). This kuska recipe uses homemade chicken stock to flavour the rice. The stock is used for making kuska while the meat is shredded and made into pichi potta kozhi or pepper chicken. I think this is Tamilnadu’s answer to Hainanese chicken and rice. This is one of our regular Sunday lunch favorites.
Here is how to make kuska.
Note for vegetarians: This recipe uses chicken stock. For a vegetarian version, you can use vegetable stock and a cup of coconut milk to enhance the taste.
We will need to make chicken stock for this recipe. Use a bigger cooker so there is less spewing from the cooker. If the cooker is small, the stock will ooze out and make a mess. So use at-least a 5 liter cooker. Add the chicken bones in a pressure cooker and add a liter of water. Add in half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and a teaspoon of salt. Cover the pressure cooker and cook on a medium flame for 30 minutes. Cooking for a long time will make the collagen from the bones to release and will make the stock very flavourful. This stock is very nutritious too! After 30 minutes, let the pressure from the cooker settle naturally. Remove the bones from the stock and discard the bones. Set aside.
Note: If you cant get chicken bones, boil whole chicken or chicken thighs for 15 minutes in the cooker. Remove the chicken meat and boil the bones again for another 15 minutes in the cooker and proceed with the recipe. The boiled chicken can be shredded and used to make delicious pichi potta kozhi.
Wash and soak the basmati rice in water for at-least 20 minutes to half an hour. You can soak the rice and start with the the prep work.
Kuska Masala
Take all the ingredients listed under kuska masala. We will grind it to a paste.
Grind the ingredients in a mixie to a smooth paste. Add little water while grinding. Set aside.
Heat oil and ghee in a pan and add in the kalpasi (stone flower) and the bay leaves.
Add in the sliced onions and saute for five minutes till the onions are soft.
Add in the ground masala and the tomatoes. Add in half a teaspoon of salt. Remember we have also salted the stock. So go easy on the salt. We can adjust the seasoning later if need be. Saute the tomatoes for 5 minutes till the tomatoes are cooked and the mixture is almost dry.
Add in the red chilli powder and the curd. Cook for five minutes.
Note: Adjust the quantity of green chillies and red chilli powder according to your taste and spice level.
Add in the stock. Measure the stock and add. We will need four cups of liquid for this recipe.
I had about 3 cups of stock. Add a cup of water and the coriander and mint leaves. Let it all come to a boil. Add in the drained rice.
Cover the pan with a lid and let the rice cook for 10 minutes on medium flame.
Stir once in a while.
After about 10 minutes, the rice would be cooked about seventy five to eighty percent.
At this stage add in the ghee and put the kuska rice in dum.
Dum: Heat a dosa tawa on medium low flame and place the kuska pan on top of the dosa tawa. Let the kuska be on dum for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the pan and let it rest for atleast 20 minutes before serving the kuska.
Kuska is ready after the rest. Serve the kuska with boiled egg, raita and salna.
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Kuska Recipe, Tamil style kushka recipe
Recipe for kuska, tamil hotel style kuska rice recipe. Kuska gravy made with homemade chicken stock made from scratch.
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the stock
- 500 grams chicken bones
- 1 liter water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
For the masala paste
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 inch piece ginger
- 4–5 green chillies
- 4 cloves
- 2 cardamom
- half inch piece cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (sombu)
Other Ingredients
- 2 cups Basmati rice (500 ml)
- 2 tablespoon peanut oil
- 3 tablespoon ghee
- a big pinch of kalpasi
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups sliced onions
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust seasoning later if need be)
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1/4 cup curd
- 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
- 2 tablespoon ghee for dum
Instructions
- Add the chicken bones in a pressure cooker and add a liter of water. Add in half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and a teaspoon of salt. Cover the pressure cooker and cook on a medium flame for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, let the pressure from the cooker settle naturally. Remove the bones from the stock and discard the bones. Set aside.
- Wash and soak the basmati rice in water for at-least 20 minutes to half an hour. You can soak the rice and start with the the prep work.
- Grind the ingredients in a mixie to a smooth paste. Add little water while grinding. Set aside.
- Heat oil and ghee in a pan and add in the kalpasi (stone flower) and the bay leaves.
- Add in the sliced onions and saute for five minutes till the onions are soft.
- Add in the ground masala and the tomatoes. Add in half a teaspoon of salt.
- Saute the tomatoes for 5 minutes till the tomatoes are cooked and the mixture is almost dry.
- Add in the red chilli powder and the curd. Cook for five minutes.
- Add in the stock. Measure the stock and add. We will need four cups of liquid for this recipe.
- I had about 3 cups of stock. Add a cup of water and the coriander and mint leaves. Let it all come to a boil. Add in the drained rice.
- Cover the pan with a lid and let the rice cook for 10 minutes on medium flame. Stir once in a while.
- After about 10 minutes, the rice would be cooked about seventy five to eighty percent.
- At this stage add in the ghee and put the kuska rice in dum.
- Dum: Heat a dosa tawa on medium low flame and place the kuska pan on top of the dosa tawa. Let the kuska be on dum for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the pan and let it rest for atleast 20 minutes before serving the kuska.
- Kuska is ready after the rest. Serve the kuska with boiled egg, raita and salna.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Tamilnadu
Hi can you please tell me ,where can i get that cooking pot..I want to buy it
Its from Le Creuset.
Kannama, can’t thank you enough for all your wonderful recipes! This kuska biryani recipe turns out perfectly each time! Thanks again for sharing generously all these little treasures! Sandhya
Thank You!
Hello. I am amazed with Kannamma Cooks. I have tried a few of your recipes. Quite successfully, I must say, because you explain it so nicely (uncomplicated). The Kuska is a big hit with my family and friends. One of my top pulaos ever. Thank you.
Thank you!
Hi, Can we use store bought stock cubes to get the stock?
Sure.
Hi, I have just found your blog as I am preparing for a fundraiser …. I will provide a Tamilnadu feast for friends – raising funds for asylum seekers in Australia.
I would like to cook this dish as part of the feast… I am sorry for my ignorance but please can you clarify what a ‘dum’ is and also a dosa area ?
From your recipe”At this stage add in the ghee and put the kuska rice in dum.
Dum: Heat a dosa tawa on medium low flame and place the kuska pan on top of the dosa tawa.”
Thankypu
Dum is the final step in making a pulao or biryani where the flavour gets locked into the rice.
Basically here is how to do it.
There are two ways to do it.
First Way – Heat a skillet (dosa tawa – a skillet used to make dosai. Any thick skillet / griddle will work ) on low flame. On top of the skillet, place the kuska pot (which is 75% -80% done) and cover it with a tight lid and let it cook in that residual heat for 20 minutes. After the time, remove the pot from heat. Set aside for 20 minutes before serving.
Second way : I suggest this for you as its better and fool proof.
After adding the stock / water to the pan, let it come to a boil. Add in the rice etc.. and let it all come to a boil. A full boil.
Cover the pan with a lid and place it in a preheated oven. Bake the kuska for twenty minutes at 200°C / 400°F. After the said time, remove the pan from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before opening.
IMPORTANT: Place the kuska pan in the oven after the water / liquid in the pan comes to a full boil. Else the kuska wont cook properly.
Also, preheat the oven 200°C / 400°F for 15-20 minutes before baking.
Refer to this video for an idea.
https://www.kannammacooks.com/easy-chicken-biryani/
Hi Claire.
Wishing you the best for the fund raiser.
Suguna
Very flavorful recipe……turned out very tasty
Thank you!
I loved this recipe, quick and easy. Cooked it for the first time and my husband and in-laws just loved it. Thanks for this recipe 😊
Thank you so much.
The best recipe during lockdown time 😊😊😊
Thank you. Glad you liked the kuska. Comfort food 🙂
Thanks I tried out this recipe too with coconut milk. It was tasty. Should we substitute all the water with coconut milk can yo clarify.
Hi Vijay, The coconut milk – water can be 50:50. Glad you liked it.
Hi Suguna akka… We have tried this recipe many times now during the lockdown when it’s difficult to get meat and everytime is a hit.. this recipe is a keeper.. Thanks a lot for sharing such yummy fool proof recipes…
Thank you so much Surya. Glad you guys enjoyed the kuska recipe. Stay safe and happy cooking !
I made this today and instead of chicken stock,I added coconut milk..a big hit with my family..taste was awesome..thank you very much for the recipe..
I did this yesterday for my wife and son and both of them liked soo much that they wanted me to repeat again today. I am going to do the same with mutton bones. Awesome biriyani! From now on its gonna be mostly MT biriyani in my home!!
I think this is a good recipe really i know how to prepare but i don’t know the quantity thanks for providing the details. good to see more of your blog.
Hello Mam,
I am a big fan of your blog. I have tried many of your dishes(fish fry/mutton gola), super hit in my kitchen too. Thanks for that. This Kuska receipe looks good, and i am eagerly looking forward to try this over the weekend.
I am just wondering the utensil that you have used is cast iron right? I believe that is a very heavy pan, is it really worth/good to use it in daily cooking? Wont it take more time for cooking?
It’s enameled cast iron.
Thank you for the recipe. Would using seeraga samba rice make it better? Thank you!
Sure. you can use seeraga samba too!
I do it either with basmati or seeraga samba and both turns out well.
I love seeraga samba too!
Clear presentation. I will try in veg version…
Super super dear…. what a timing….u have posted this recipe for Ramzan time…. Thanks