A celebration of Eid isn't over till the last morsel of that special, homewallah Mutton Biryani has been had.
Reshma Aslam carefully guides you through a precise, but uncomplicated classic recipe for a terrific-tasting Mutton Biryani
"Few dishes capture the soul of Indian cooking like a pungent, slow-cooked mutton biryani," says Reshma. "Rich spices, tender mutton and expertly-layered rice together create a one-dish divine feast."
"If you love deep flavours and melt-in-the-mouth meat, this mutton biryani is worth every minute of the time taken to make it. I call it my Quick And Easy Mutton Biryani."
Photograph: Kind courtesy Behrouz Biryani/Wikimedia Commons
Quick And Easy Mutton Biryani For Perfect Eid
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients
- 500 gm biryani rice or basmati rice
- 500 gm mutton
- 1 cup half-fried, sliced onions
- ¼ cup oil or ghee
- 200 gm thick yoghurt
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp red chilly powder
- 1½ tsp brown dhania or coriander powder
- ½ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
- ½ tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tbsp biryani masala
- 1 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
- 2 potatoes, peeled cut into half
- 2-3 handfuls fresh green dhania or coriander leaves or cilantro, chopped
- 4-5 lavang or cloves
- 2-inch stick dalcheeni or cinnamon
- 2-3 bari elaichi or cardamom
- Salt to taste, about 2-3 tsp
- Juice of ½ of a lime
- ½ tsp kewra or screwpine essence
- Water
- Yellow food colouring, optional
Method
For the rice:
- Wash the rice well, 2-3 times and drain the excess water.
In a bowl, add fresh water and the washed rice and keep aside, letting the rice soak for 30 minutes or so.
- In a large saucepan or a kadhai, add in 5-6 cups water, 1-2 tsp salt, 2 of the cloves, ½ tsp of the cumin seeds and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Add a few drops lime juice, the kewra essence.
Add the soaked rice and cook over low to medium heat, till 80 per cent done.
Strain and keep aside.
For the mutton:
- Wash the mutton thoroughly and drain very well.
Add the mutton to a large container and then add 1-2 tsp salt, yoghurt, half-fried onions, half of the chopped green coriander, biryani masala and mix well.
Let the mutton marinate for a couple of hours or ideally overnight in the fridge.
- In a pressure cooker, over medium heat, warm up the oil/ghee, remaining ½ tsp cumin seeds, remaining 2 cloves, cinnamon, cardamom till aromatic.
Now add the ginger-garlic paste, potatoes and fry for two minutes.
Next add the marinated mutton mixture and pressure cook over hight heat for 5 minutes.
Turn the heat down and cook for 15 minutes more, till the mutton is 70 per cent done.
Layering
- In another large saucepan or a kadhai, add all of the cooked mutton to form the bottom layer.
Above that, add the partially pre-cooked rice.
Garnish with remaining chopped green coriander and few drops yellow food colouring to give a restaurant-style effect.
For the dum
- Seal the top of the saucepan with aluminium foil and cover with a heavy lid.
Cook over low heat for about 20-25 minutes.
Take off heat, fluff gently with a fork and serve/plate it up.