Hi all,
I had an old recipe for mutton biryani on this blog but I am accepting room for improvement and here's the newer, better, nicer, tastier, and easier version.
ingredients (to serve 4 like me)
2 kgs mutton with bone
1 tablespoon meat masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
250 gram yoghurt
50 ml mint sauce
100 ml oil
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon black cumin
whole spices
6 bay leaves
10 whole cardamom
3 black cardamom
4 cinnamon sticks
3 star aniseed
3 large onions
10 cloves garlic
50 grams ginger
2 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
salt to taste
300 grams long basmati rice (don't be stingy, get the best one!)
a pinch of saffron (so that it's covers a teaspoon - sorry can't explain it better)
sultanas 50 grams
cashews 100 grams
coriander and mint leaves 50 grams each
eggs - 4
first mix the meat, yoghurt, meat masala turmeric and mint sauce and leave overnight at least (24 hours is even better)
blend onions, garlic and ginger.
heat oil, add cumin and black cumin and the whole spices and then the onin paste.
after cooking on low-medium for 30 minutes, turn the heat to high and add the coriander powder, chilli powder, and the marinaded meat. cook on high for 10 mins stirring frequently, add 1 level teaspoon salt and then cook on low for 2 hours 40 minutes
when the meat is done for a total of 2 hours 50 minutes, start boiling the rice in 2-3 ltrs already boiled water with 4 teaspoons of salt in it (don't worry, we drain the salty water once ride is done). Mix saffron in 1/4 cup of hot milk and stir gently. When the rice is about 3/4th way through (this should take 10-15 minutes, and you can check my squeezing the rice grain so that it doesn't squish completely. the meat would be done for 3 hours by now), drain the water out completely. Add the saffron mix to the rice. chop the coriander and mint and mix with rice, along with cashew, sultanas, 1/2 to 1 level teaspoon salt (1/2 is enough for most).
now spray a deep oven dish with oil and add a layer of 2 cm deep layer of rice, and then add a layer of mutton pieces. drizzle with some of the curry from mutton. another layer of rice, then mutton, then a drizzle of curry. you WILL have extra curry left over. don't dump it into the rice or else it wouldn't be biryani, it'd be khichdi :D
into the oven at 165 degree Celsius for 30 minutes. meanwhile boil the eggs for putting on top. done :)
On the side, you can serve, kachummar, and als whipped yoghurt with a pinch of chilli powder, a teaspoon of mint sauce and salt.
