RECIPE FOR BIRIYANI - CHICKEN AND MUTTON

BIRIYANI - CHICKEN AND MUTTON 

INGREDIENTS

• Chicken or Mutton (1 lb or 1 Kilo)
• Basmati Rice - the same weight as the meat
• Yoghurt - 2 to 3 Cups 
• Ginger & Garlic Paste - 2 heaped Tablespoons
• 5 Fairly Large Onions
• Pureed Tomatoes - 4 Large
• Tomato Paste - 2 heaped Tablespoons
• 2 Teaspoons Chilli Powder (reduce or add according to your taste)

SPICES TO BE GROUND:

• Eight 1 inch Sticks of Cinnamon
• 15 pods of Green Cardamom
• 8 pods of Brown Cardamom
• 10 to 15 pieces of Cloves
• 15 to 20 pieces of Black Pepper
• 2 pieces of Star Anise
• 1 heaped teaspoon of Cumin Seeds
• 1 level teaspoon of Lemon Salt

(Alternatively you can use the ready Biriyani Masala Mix - but I prefer to use my own spices written above for better aroma and taste)

METHOD

1)  After you have the meat in required pieces, tip that in a large bowl, add yoghurt, salt, chilli powder, ginger/garlic paste, and HALF the quantity of the ground spices. DO NOT add tomatoes at this stage.

NOTE: If using chicken, marinate for 1 hour. If using mutton, marinate overnight or for 6 to 8 hours.

2)  Take some oil in a wok and fry the thinly sliced onions in batches until golden brown. Do not fry to dark brown otherwise the biriyani will acquire a bitter taste!! And the tip to brown the onions perfectly is put them in oil that isn't too hot and continue frying them on medium slow flame. Switch off heat as soon as you see that they are nearing the colour that you want. Continue stirring until done. Take them off onto absorbent paper and spread them out. Overlapping them won't get them crispy when cool, so you won't be able to crush them well later.

3)  Once the marinating period is over, place the meat with its marinade and the tomato puree + tomato paste into a large heavy based pan/pot and place on high heat. Let it get to a good simmer and then cover and lower the heat and let it cook. Keep checking on it from time to time and stir. Chicken will obviously cook within a short time and mutton will take longer. 

4)  When you see that the meat is almost tender and moisture has dried up to half its original quantity, add the crushed browned onions but save a quarter of the quantity for garnishing and layering. 

5)  After the onions, add about 1 ladle of the oil you used to brown onions in. Keep stirring gently so as to not break the meat. You will see that the whole thing is taking on a rich colour -and the AROMA will tell you that you have something great cooking!  Here you can check your seasoning and add more salt, chilli or biriyani masala you saved earlier. 

6)  Now continue cooking on high flame, uncovered and continual stirring because at this stage it can burn easily. Once you see it has dried up considerably (should not be TOO dry) and oil has separated, take it off the heat. Tip all the meat gravy into a separate container, cover and keep warm. Set the pot/pan (that you have just emptied) aside as it is. You will need it again to layer the biriyani.

RICE:
Wash and soak the rice for about 20 mins. Boil water in a large heavy based saucepan, add 3 or 4 pieces of cinnamon, a few cloves, a few pieces of black pepper, 1 Tbsp of cumin seeds, I Tbsp of fennel seeds. Once the water is boiling, tip in the drained rice, add salt to taste, and a little white vinegar (this helps in making sure grains do not stick). Once the rice is 3/4 done, drain.

LAYERING

1)  In the same heavy based saucepan or pot that you set aside, spread out a quarter of the quantity of rice, then all of the meat gravy. 

2)  Add half of the quantity of remaining rice, dot with either liquid food colour or saffron soaked in milk. Spread some of the browned onions saved earlier, some chopped coriander and chopped mint leaves (optional, but it really enhances the biriyani flavour). 

3)  Then over this layer spread out the remaining rice. Take a little bit of the same oil you browned onions in and drizzle it out all over the final layer of rice. 
Add some more saffron milk or liquid food colour. 

4)  Seal the cover/lid well. First let it cook on high heat until you hear it simmering. Then lower the flame to a dot (if using a hot plate, then to super low) and let it cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until you are sure the rice is fully cooked. Alternatively, you can do the same thing in a rice cooker. Turns out perfect in that too.

SERVING

With a spatula, move the top layer of rice until the colour is well mixed. Place that first in the serving platter. Then add the gravy, and the some more rice. Garnish with the remaining browned onions. Enjoy the biriyani with Kachumer!!

It is a lengthy process and the onion browning tests your patience....but the end result is worth the effort. It really turns out to be a very aromatic and delicious meal.