Biryani for BB

Biryani : rice dishes made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat/vegetables ~ Wikipedia

There’s someone I know whose favorite food is biryani. Biryani is derived from Persian word berya which means fried or roasted. We need basmati rice to prepare biryani. Basmati means queen of fragrance, it is a variety of long grain rice, famous for its fragrance and delicate flavour. There are many kind of biryanis and its very popular in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Biryani is generally eaten with a type of bread, "nan-e taftton". I tried biryani 2 years ago in Little India, Singapore. It was chicken biryani, the portion was too big for little girl like me so we shared it into 2 plates, for me and my friend. I am planning one day I want to cook biryani so I must start collecting some recipes. Here what I found on net, look at the ingredients ….full of spices :

1. Mughlai Biryani

By Petrina Verma Sarkar

A regal dish, Mughlai Biryani is fit for a king and was probably eaten by many too! This makes the perfect one-dish meal for when you have company. It combines ingredients typical to the Mughlai style of cooking.

Ingredients:

• For the meat: 1kg lamb/ chicken cut into 2" pieces (if using chicken, use breast or thigh fillet)
• 4 large onions sliced thin
• 2 tsps garlic paste
• 2 tsps ginger paste
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 6 tbsps ghee/ vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
• 1" stick of cinnamon
• 5 cloves
• 3 pods cardamom
• 8 peppercorns
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 cup yoghurt
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 cup chicken/ beef stock
• 2 tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves
• 2 tbsps finely chopped mint leaves
• Salt to taste
• For the rice: 2 cups Basmati rice
• Hot water
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Put the almonds in a bowl of hot water (enough to cover them) and set aside for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes remove skins from all the almonds by pressing each one between your thumb and forefinger. The almonds will slip out of their skins!
• Mix the garlic and ginger pastes, the peeled almonds and grind to a smooth paste in a food processor.
• Wash the rice in a sieve and add enough water to fully cover the rice - at least 4" over the surface of the rice. Add salt to taste. Set the rice up to boil. Cook till almost done. To determine when it has reached that stage, remove a few grains from the pot and press between your thumb and forefinger. The rice should mostly mash but will have a firm whitish core. Turn off the fire. Strain through a colander and keep drained aside.
• Heat 3 tbsps of oil in a pan and fry 2 of the onions till caramalized - golden brown. Drain and keep aside on paper towels for later use.
• Heat 3 tbsps of oil in another pan and add the whole spices - cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns. Fry till the spices turn a little darker.
• Add the 2 remaining onions and fry till they are translucent.
• Add the ginger-garlic-almond paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.
• Add all the spice powders - coriander, cumin and garam masala and mix well.
• Fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala and then add the lamb/ chicken. Keep frying till the meat is fully sealed (it will become opaque and lose its pink colour).
• Now add the yoghurt, lime juice, stock, coriander and mint leaves and salt to taste (if needed). Mix well.
• Cover the pot and allow to cook till the meat is tender.
• Grease a deep baking dish and evenly layer the cooked rice, meat (and its gravy) in it to form at least 2 sets of layers (rice-meat-rice-meat-rice). Garnish with the previously caramalised onions. Cover the dish tightly. If the dish does not have a cover use 2 layers of aluminium foil (shiny side of both layers pointing down towards the rice) and secure on to dish with baking string.
• Put in a pre-heated oven set at 350 F/ 180 C/ Gas mark 4 for 20 minutes.
• Turn off the oven and let the dish sit in the oven till you are ready to eat. Only open when you are ready to eat. The way to serve Biryani is to gently dig in with a spoon so you get through the layers.
• While Mughlai Biryani tastes great by itself, add a raita like Chatpata Channa Raita (chickpeas in hot-sour yoghurt)and you're really in business!

2. Egg Biryani Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup ghee / oil
8 large eggs (hard boiled)
1 large onion (finely chopped)
2 flakes garlic (curshed)
2 bay leaves
1-inch cinnamon stick
1 brown Cardamom (badi elaichi)
4 green cardamom pods (chhoti elaichi)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chili powder or to taste
2 cups Basmati (long grain) Rice
21/2 cups warm water
Salt To Taste
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
3-4 tomatoes (thickly sliced) to garnish

Preparation:

Heat the oil / ghee in a deep sauce pan and fry onions and garlic together with the bay leaves, cinnamon and cardamoms, until golden.
Carefully prick the eggs with a fork and add to the pan.
Stir in turmeric, chili powder and fry for about 5 minutes.
Add pre-soaked rice and stir slowly and carefully for 2 minutes.
Pour in water and salt to taste, and cook over a modeate heat until the rice is tender and water is absorbed. Sprinkle garam masala powder over it.
Garnish egg biryani with chopped coriander and tomato slices, serve hot.

3. Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe

Recipe by Priya Madhan

Ingredients:

Chicken - 1 lb cut into medium sized pieces
Onions - 2 big (sliced)
Tomatoes - 2 big (sliced)
Green Chillies - 3 - cut slanted
Ginger garlic paste - 2 to 3 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 2 to 2 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seed powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Garam masala items - 2 cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1 cardamom, 2 medium sized cinnamon sticks, a pinch of saunf (if not available, substitute with 1 tsp garam masala)
Salt - to taste
Oil - 5 tbsp (with a little butter or ghee)
Food coloring/Saffron - a pinch
Basmatic rice - 3 cups
Mint leaves (pudina) -1/4 cup

For garnishing:
Coriander leaves (Cilantro) - a little
Fresh mint (sautéd in ghee) - a little
Raisins - 5 (optional)
Cashews - 8 (optional)

Method:

In a large pan, heat oil and add the garam masala items and onions. Saute the onions for a while. Then, add the mint leaves, ginger garlic paste and saute for a few minutes. Then, add the tomatoes, green chillies, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin seed powder and salt. Fry this mixture for a while maybe adding a little bit of water. Then, add the chicken pieces and saute for 10-15 min. Pour some water, close with a lid and allow the chicken to cook. This should be in a sort of a gravy consistency (the oil would have come out on top).

Separately cook the basmati rice (for 3 cups rice, add 4-4 1/2 cups water) ensuring that the rice is not sticky (Make sure not to overcook the rice). Soak the pinch of saffron in a little water. Roast cashews and raisins separately and keep aside. In a large dish, put in a layer of rice. Sprinkle a little saffron water. Add some chicken masala to this and mix. Then again add another layer of rice, saffron water, and chicken masala. Continue this until all of the rice and masala is exhausted. (Note: The biryani would have a mix of colors - orange (from the food coloring), partially plain white (from the rice), orangish brown (from the masala)). Toss in the cashews, and raisins, mint and coriander leaves and serve hot with onion raita or cucumber raita or plain sliced onions.







My First Chicken Biryani and Naan