It is always pleasing to get back to blogging that too after a long hiatus. Now what could be more gleeful than sharing a recipe of grandeur on your comeback. Here I bring it on the table the recipe of Mutton Biryani, an all time favourite for the Mughlai Khana enthusiasts. If you ask me the “Gharana” of the biryani, I can declare it to be originally Lucknowi which found its proud inheritance in Kolkata since the later part of eighteenth Century. However, for me while admitting its glorious legacy, I find this biryani to be typically Kolkatan, which ignited my love for Mughlai food in childhood that I carry till date. Hope to get your love and affection for this recipe too.

Ingredients to serve 2-3 :

1. Mutton (medium size pieces) – 500 gm.
2. Basmati rice – 250-300 gm. (2 cups)
3. Potato (large) – 2-3
4. Onion (cut into fine slices) – 2 (large)
5. Plain yogurt (beaten) – 3 tbspoon
6. Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbspoon (heaped)
7. Red chil
8. i powder – 1 teaspoon
9. Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
10. White pepper powder (samorich) – ½ teaspoon
11. Biryani Masala – 1½ tbspoon
12. Cloves – 3-4
13. Green cardamom – 3-4 pods
14. Bay leaf – 2
15. Milk powder – 2 tbspoon (heaped)
16. Rose water – ½ teaspoon
17. Kewra water –  ½ teaspoon
18. Few strands of  saffron (soaked into 2 tbspoon of warm milk)
19. Pinch of yellow food colour (optional)
20. Milk – 1 cup (medium size)
21. Salt to taste
22. Ghee/Clarified butter (melted) – 3 tbspoon
23. Mustard oil – 4-5 tbspoon
24. Wheat flour – 1 cup

Procedure :

Step 1: Cooking the meat

Wash and clean the meat.

Marinate the meat with salt, ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, chili powder, white pepper powder, 1 tbspoon of biryani masala, ¼ teaspoon  kewra water,  ¼ teaspoon  rose water and 2 tbspoon of mustard oil for overnight.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into two halves, coat them with salt and turmeric powder.

Heat remaining mustard oil in a pressure cooker.  Fry potatoes till they half cooked, remove them from pressure cooker and keep aside.

Add onion slices into the pressure cooker and fry them till golden brown.

Then add marinated meat into the pressure cooker and cook over medium flame till oil separates from the mixture. Loosely cover the pressure cooker with its lid at this time.

Then add approx. 1½ cup of hot water into it. Let the liquid comes to boil and then pressure cook the meat up to 8 whistles so that it gets cooked 70%. Now separate the meat from its liquid gravy and keep aside.

Step 2: Cooking Rice

Wash and soak the rice in cold water for 1 hour or more. Then bring to boil sufficient amount of water in a pan. Add drained rice and salt (approx. 1½ teaspoon) into the boiling water. Prepare a small spice bag with a piece a cotton cloth containing green cardamom and clove and bay leaf. Place this bag into the boiling water while the rice is cooking. Cook the rice till it is 50% done. Drain the water, remove the spice bag and keep the cooked rice aside.

Step 3: Assembling Meat & Rice for Dum :

Make a soft dough by wheat flour and water.

Now grease a heavy bottomed pan or preferably a “Handi” (a deep, narrow-mouthed cooking vessel) with 1 tbspoon of ghee. Pour the mutton gravy/broth into it. Add remaining biryani masala, 1 tbspoon of ghee, ½ cup of milk and the mutton pieces, mix them well.

Place fried potatoes over the meat.

Now spread half of the cooked rice over it. Spread saffron milk, rose-water, kewra water, milk powder and remaining ghee over the rice.

Then spread the remaining rice and milk at the top.

Cover the pan with a lid and seal with the dough to make it air tight. Now put a “tawa” on medium-high flame and place the sealed pot containing the meat & rice over it, cook for 6-8 minutes and then put the flame on low. Cook for another 30-35 minutes till rice get properly cooked.

Give it a standing time for few minutes and then check for the liquid at the bottom, whether it is completely dried out.

Serve hot with salads and raita.

Note:

1. I have used pressure cooker to prepare the mutton as otherwise it takes pretty long time to get cooked . If you don’t have pressure cooker then use a heavy bottom pot and cook the mutton for 45 minutes up to 1 hour (or till 70% done) over low flame. Rest of the procedure will remain same.
2. I have used medium size pieces of meat. You can use larger sizes if you desire. Then have to cook the meat accordingly by giving it a longer time to cook.
3. You can also add boiled egg into your biryani. For that just hard boil the egg, fry it in oil a bit while adding salt and turmeric powder and then place it at the top of the rice layer while cooking the biryani in ‘dum’.