It's different from a pulao
Though both are rice dishes, in a pulao you cook all the ingredients together while in a biryani, the rice is boiled separately from the meat masala gravy. The two are then layered, bringing about distinct flavours.
The best of them all?
There is such a variety of biryanis that differ on account of cultures and regional influences. The main styles have mutton (or lamb) and chicken. Lucknow's specialty is the nalli (bone marrow) biryani, Kashmir has a flavoursome chicken biryani, Hyderabadis prepare Kachche Gosht Ki Biryani and you get fish biryanis in South India. The moplah biryani of North Kerala's Malabari Muslims (influenced by Arabic cuisine) has seer fish or prawns.
But perhaps the queen of the Mughlai styles is the Lucknowi 'Dum Biryani' where a cover of atta (flour) is used to seal the handi (vessel) to trap the steam inside and allow the meat and rice to slow cook in its own juices. It is cooked over hot coals. At the end, the dish is as aromatic as it gets and the meat so succulent, it simply falls off the bone.
Recipes to try:
Kacche gosht ki Biryani (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
• Basmati Rice — 750 g
• Mutton chopped and tenderized with lemon — 1 kg
• Cloves — 10 g
• Cardamom — 10 g
• Nutmeg — 10 g
• Khus root — 10 g
• Hung curd — 250 ml
• Ginger garlic paste — 50 g
• Shahi jeera — 10 g
• Red chilli powder — 20 g
• Yellow chilli powder — 15 g
• Fresh mint — ¼ bunch
• Ginger, julienne — 100 g
• Oil (refined) — 100 ml
• Salt to taste
• Saffron — small pinch
• Ghee — 150 ml
• Rose water — few drops
• Onion sliced and fried — 150g
• Lemon — 3
• Cream — 75 ml
• Milk — 50 ml
For the 'purdah' or 'dum' covering:
• Refined flour — ½ kg
• Javitri elaichi powder — 10 g
• Milk — 250ml
• Saffron — 1 gm
• Ghee — 50 ml
• Knead all ingredients into small dough (keep aside)
Method:
1. Slice the onions and cook them in oil till brown. Drain and cool.
2. Mix the mutton with spices and curd, onions and ginger paste, shahi jeera and salt. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Soak the rice. Put some water to boil and add oil, salt and few drops of lemon juice and rose water. Drop a few cloves and cardamom. When water boils put the soaked rice (till the rice is cooked a bit and then drain the water).
4. Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan and add ginger garlic paste and mutton to it. Layer the mutton with rice with green chillies, mint, ginger, saffron, cream and ghee.
5. Then another layer of rice again adding the green chilies, mint, ginger, saffron and ghee.
6. Then seal the container with 'purdah'. Simmer when you see steam escaping. Put it in the oven for 25-30 mins. Then serve alongside raita.
Rawas Biryani
Ingredients:
Rawas fish cubes, refined oil or ghee, grated onions, ginger and garlic paste, cumin seeds, whole and powdered garam masala, coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, hung yogurt and coriander.
Method:
Heat oil or ghee and add cumin seeds, onions,ginger-garlic pastes. When it turns brown add the garam masala, coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and yogurt. Mix it in the fish and cook well.
For the rice, heat oil and add cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon and green cardamoms and mix in the browned onions, coriander, green chillies when they darken a bit, add rice, water and salt. Mix well and cook till rice is tender. To serve, put the fish layer at the bottom of the dish. Cover with cooked basmati rice and top with saffron.
