Ancestral Recipes

Ingredients

• 500 grams Mutton(Goat)
• 300gm Basmati Rice Long Grain (For Soaking)
• 4 pcs Black Pepper (For Soaking)
• 1 pcs Star Anise (For Soaking)
• 3 pcs Laung (For Soaking)
• 15 tablespoons Ghee
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 2 inch piece of Ginger and 10 Garlic Cloves (For Ginger Garlic Paste)
• 4 tablespoons Mustard Oil (For Frying Onions)
• 4 large onion, thinly Sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 Tomatoes (For Masala)
• 50 grams Curd (For Masala)
• 4 tablespoons Ground Coriander Powder
• 4 teaspoons Red Chilli Powder (Dedhi Mirch)
• 3 teaspoons Garam Masala Powder
• 4 teaspoons Black Pepper Powder
• 6 Pcs Laung (For Chutki Masala)
• 6 Pcs Green Eliachi (For Chutki Masala)
• 2 Pcs Javitri (For Chutki Masala)
• 1 Pcs JaiPhal (For Chutki Masala)
• 2 Pcs Dalchini (For Chutki Masala)
• 10ml Milk
• 10ml Water
• 2/3 strands of Saffron
• 2 drops Kewra Essense

Instructions

Rice Preparation

1. Clean the rice thoroughly by running it through 6/7 times running water.
2. Soak the rice in water.Ensure there is at least 1cm water over the rice level.
3. Add whole spices to the rice while soaking: black pepper (kali mirch), star anise, and 2-3 cloves (laung). Leave it for at least 2 hours.
4. Post Soaking, take the rice in a cooker. Add 1 teaspoons of Salt in the water and cook it till it is almost 90% done. To check if it is done, press the rice grain against the spoon. It should just break. Once this is achieved, drain the water and keep aside. Put 1 teaspoon of Ghee on the rice.

Onion & Masala Preparation

5. Slice 4 onions and fry them in hot oil until they turn reddish-brown. Remove and set aside.
6. Take half the fried onions, 2 tomatoes and 50 grams yoghurt in a mixer. Blend to a fine paste.Keep Aside.
7. Put the saffron strands in milk and allow it to settle for 20-30mins.Add 1drop of Kewra Essense. Keep aside.
8. Take the ingredients marked for Chutki masala and grind them to a fine mix. Keep aside. This is Chutki Masala.

Mutton Preparation

9. Clean the mutton thoroughly.
10. In a pressure cooker, take 4 teaspoons of Ghee. Add BayLeaf and big Cardamom. Add the Ginger Garlic Paste.
11. Turn up the heat and add the mutton. Keep stirring the mutton till it is 50% fried. At this time the oil will start seperating. Lower the heat and take out the mutton pieces.
12. Now add the prepared Onion-Tomato-Yoghurt Masala in the pressure cooker.On Low heat, continue cooking it. Add Coriander powder, Red Chilli Powder(Degi Mirch) and Garam Masala. Cook this mixture till oil starts seperating.
13. Once Oil has seperated, add the mutton pieces and again cook for approximately 10-15mins on low heat. Again oil will start seperating then add salt as per your taste.
14. Now take 200ml of water, put in into the cooker and wait for two whistles of the cooker.
15. Turn the cooker off. Empty the cooker and keep mutton pieces and gravy seperate.

Assembly of the Biryani

16. At this point, the mutton and rice are cooked. We need to assemble it.
17. Gather all ingredients together. You should have cooked rice, cooked mutton, mutton Gravy,Garam Masala powder, Fried Onions, Chutki Masala, Saffron Mix
18. Take a big cooker. You can either use the one in which you cooked Mutton or if that is small, use a bigger one.
19. Pour 10ml water in the cooker.
20. Add a layer of Rice. Add a tablespoon of ghee.
21. Then add 4 pieces of mutton. Sprinkle a little of all three masalas(Garam Masala/Chutki Masala/Fried Onions).then add a spoon of mutton curry.
22. Continue adding rice and mutton alternatively till you finish.
23. Once it is completed, poke holes in the assembled biryani and pour the remaining curry into the holes.
24. On the top, pour the saffron milk mix.
25. Now close the lid and place it on the stove on low flame for 5mins.
26. The mutton biryani is ready to eat.