AMONG THE HUNDREDS OF STYLES OF BIRYANIS THAT YOU MAY FIND, THIS ONE IS THE BEST AND MOST FLAVORFUL RECIPE THAT I HAVE HAD. THIS BIRYANI IS MADE IN HOUSEHOLDS AND IS VERY POPULAR AROUND OLD DELHI, PARTICULARLY JAMA MASJID. EASY, I PROMISE! FLAVORFUL, NO DOUBT! DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND TRY THIS!
Biryani is Bae.
Whoever said these wise words wasn’t messing around! Truer words have seldom been said.
2017 was a very eventful year for me. Started with my trip to India for my best friend’s wedding, followed by our move from Pittsburgh to Portland, Oregon. It was March 2017, when I decided to take control of my health and unhealthy food habits and started a low carb, high fat journey. Lost more than a 10kg. Then came my second trip to India within a year. For my cousin’s wedding. This happened while we had my mother in law visiting us for a couple of months. And that, my friends, lead us to the most important point of this whole discussion. When you have family visiting from India, it calls for a food adventure.
I wanted to showcase my culinary skill and took this as an opportunity to eat the things that me n Nishant were craving to have. That entailed, mom made paranthas, mom made daal amongst other delicacies.
If you have been following my blog, you would know by now that BIRYANI does things to my head. Even so much as a thought of biryani twists and turns my taste buds. And so, there couldn’t have been a better time for me to get back to my hunt for the best biryani recipe in the world.
In the past two months (or less), I have made this recipe three times. THREE times! And one of these times was for a potluck which involved cooking for about 20 people.
I would humbly like to inform you all that it has been a true success from the first time I made this.
Let me tell you why I never settled for any other recipe that I tried before this one. For a biryani, the rice and the meat is cooked separately and then layered before cooking on ‘dum’. A lot can go wrong (for me) in these seemingly simple steps. Let us make a list,
- The rice comes off as too dry and inadequately seasoned.
- The flavors don’t really come together
- The distinct aroma of biryani is missing.
- Too many spices and ingredients messes up with what should be a simple aromatic biryani.
My recipe is a fool proof answer/ solution to all the above problems. I promise you!
BIRYANI IS MY VICE!
Every year on Eid, I have had the pleasure of having homemade biryani made by one of my father’s friend who is a muslim and lives near Jama masjid. His name is ‘Pappu Uncle’. Ever since I remember, I have been trying to find a restaurant or a recipe that is similar to that biryani. ‘Pappu Uncle’s biryani’ has been the benchmark for me.
My sister confirmed after seeing a photo of the biryani that I sent to her that it looks exactly what Pappu Uncle gets. And I promised her she will have the pleasure of eating that on my next trip to India!
Enough of Biryani Puraan! Let us get to the recipe!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 45-60 minutes |
| Servings |
people
|
- 300 g Sella Rice also known as biryani rice
- 4-5 bay leaves
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 3 tbsp salt approximately
- 600 g goat meat cut into bite sized pieces
- 5-6 cloves
- 5-6 green cardamom
- 1/2 cup oil/ghee I prefer ghee
- 5 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 inch ginger julienned
- 3-4 green chillies chopped
- 2 tbsp biryani masala
- salt to taste
- 300 g yoghurt
- 1/4 tsp orange food color
- 2-3 tbsp green chilli pickle
- 2 tbsp ghee
Ingredients
For boiling the Rice
For the mutton
For assembling
|
|
- Wash and soak the sella rice for about 2 hours. If you are using normal basmati rice, soak for only 15-20 minutes.
- In a large pot, take about 3-4 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, add the bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon and salt.
- Add the soaked rice and let it cook on a medium to high flame till the rice is completely done. DO NOT overcook the rice.
- Drain the rice and let them sit in a colander over another pot so that it keeps warm over the steam.
- In a large flat (and heavy) bottomed pot, heat the ghee/oil. Once hot, add the cloves and green cardamom. Sauté for 3-4 seconds. Add the julienned ginger and the chopped green chillies. Sauté for another 3-4 seconds.
- Add the washed and cut mutton. Turn it around a little and add the ginger garlic paste. Sauté for 10-20 seconds.
- Add the biryani masala and mix well. Cook covered on medium heat until the mutton is cooked through. This may take more than an hour. Alternatively, you can transfer the whole thing to a pressure cooker and cook till done. Each pressure cooker takes different amount of time so use your discretion!
- Just when the mutton is about to get done, beat the yogurt with a spoon such that it is smooth and lump free. Add the orange food color and mix well.
- When the mutton is done, lower the heat to low and pour the yogurt on top of the mutton. Do not mix it in. Just make sure to spread it over the mutton as evenly as possible.
- Layer the cooked rice over it as evenly as possible.
- Make small pockets on the top layer of the rice and insert the green chilli pickle. I hope I make sense. Cover the pickle with rice again.
- Now cover the lid of the pot with a kitchen towel and put the lid on the pot. This ensures that the steam from the pot will not escape.
- Cook on low to medium flame for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid. Add the melted ghee on top. Cover again and let it sit for another 10-15 minutes before serving.
- That is it! Ready to be enjoyed!
If you cannot find Sella rice (also known as biryani rice), feel free to use the normal basmati rice for this. I buy Sella Rice from here.
On my journey to make the most delicious biryani and from years of research, I have zeroed in on certain important tips. I will be sharing those tips with all of you in my next post. So please stay tuned!
All in all, minimal steps and minimal ingredients. Please do us all a favor and try this recipe. And if you do, please share a photo/your experience with me!
You can check out some of my other related recipes:
Till next time,
XO, Sakshi!
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