Biryani Diaries!

So many memories with this dish. My mom is an expert at biryanis. I swear by it and it is and was and will be my favorite from her array of delicacies she makes. I have genes of 3 powerhouses of absoulutely fantastic cooks. My grannies and my mom are some of the best chefs in the world. Not that I disagree with your grannies and moms but hey!!

Birrryyaaaannniii!!
What can I say...Primarily is  is a rice-based dish made with spices, rice (usually Basmati) Chicken,mutton,vegetables or eggs. In my household, we've had very futile and undesired attempts of its preparation. But my belief is that Biryani is sacred and has to have some form of meat in it to actually feel like one. And even if I dig the Mughals out of their graves they would agree with me. A biryani is a whole meal in itself don't You think? It is. You can't argue with me.

For me a biryani reminds me of my home-Kuwait. Yes Kuwait!!! Inspite of Biryani's having persian-indian origin, my memories of the best biryani are always associated with Kuwait. You know, from where I come from (Mangalore), biryani isnt a part of our culture. So we used to seldom prepare it a home. But my first tryout with it was waaay when I was a kid.

Every Eid, we would go to an uncle's place. That "uncle" was my mom's best friend. And the poor chap had only sons. So we three sisters(did I tell u that before people??? We are 3 sisters and 1 brother!! Big n proud!!)

Ok so we three sisters would get spoiilt rooootten!! For us it was early Christmas coz we could run about the entire bungalow (Maaaasive place in Sharq) and pick and pocket whatever fancied us.Including flowers and seeds and tissues and pencils and pens and spices and nuts and...!! (no we do not have the same lifestyle now don't worry) My uncle's office was our gold mine. Many a times a years supply of stationary would come from that place for us. Through our pockets of course!! 

Anyways off topic. Now "uncle's wife" would make us biryani every single year. She was our "bhabhi aunty" I still don't know her real name and don't fancy knowing too coz I like it this way. This aint no ordinary biryani she would make my friend. 2 whole sheep, 15 kgs Indus Valley rice, a ton of vegetables and mountains of spices. And she used to make it in a handi in which there's a picture of the 3 of us comfortably sitting in it! Thats how huge this thing was!!! She'd start the cooking process with her "Devars"(Brother-in-laws) from 5am. And once the handi is closed with a lid by 10am, it would open straight by 12pm. The 3 of us wait eagerly for the opening because that was our part. Of all the times I've eaten there (9 Eids approx),our jobs were to garnish the dish. And so my elder sister would get to sprinkle the herbs, I would lay the tomato slices, the younger one the dry fruits and fried onions and aunty the "kesar"(saffron). It was accomplised then!! We would make shapes and sizes and would behave like we were making a dish to impress the Sheikh of the country for lunch! 

We girls would wait for the afternoon prayers then and after scrambling and walking back to the house looking like we had bombshells in our pockets,(thanks to all the generous donations we got) we'd sit around this huuuuuge persian carpet and eat from "Thaals"(humungous bronze copper plates that can comfortably form a bed base for 2 cats too sleep on with pillows). We 3 had a separate thaal that would come out every Eid just for us. And aunty would first serve a kebab  some raita(curd preparation), pickle, chutney and the king of the dish-Biryani!! And it ALWAAAAYS came out perfect. And we ALWAAAAYS got the credit for the garnish from everyone sitting there!! We would scald our tongues and eat like we've neevr been fed before and this would be the last time we would be having a meal before the world ended that night!
The task would be after this ceremony. To down the seviyaan prepared by uncle(which at that point was the most unappetizing dish ever) and to actually lift ourselves off the diwan to head back home. And if you have weight in your pockets holding u down, it was equivalent to capital punishment.


I miss those times. And I missed it so much that I convinced myself and made a Biryani just yesterday!! Told you that writing and reading about it won't just work. It served my purpose. 

Because of that tradition, my mom used to ensure the 3 of us would be a part of atleast one process while making a biryani when we were kids. It would be anything. But the whole family would be involved and more than the eating, the process would be so much fun.

So Biryani for Lunch? Or dinner? I hope so. For those of you who wish to make a biryani yourself tonight, here's some aid with one of my most prized possessions. And if you wish to make any changes to it, please don't bother. This ones too perfect to mess around with.

KHAAJUUUM!!!!

BHABHI AUNTY'S MUTTON BIRYANI

Mutton                                500gms

Basmati rice                        1 1/2 cups

Salt        

Bay leaves                            2

Green cardamoms                10

Black peppercorns                25-30

Cinnamon                             3 inch stick

Oil                                       1 tablespoon + to deep fry

Onions(sliced)                       5 large

Caraway seeds (shahi jeera)   1/2 teaspoon

Cloves                                   10

Ginger paste                          1 tablespoon

Garlic paste                           1 tablespoon

Red chilli powder                    1 tablespoon

Green Chillies (slit)                  5

Yogurt                                    1 cup

Fresh coriander leaves,torn       2 tablespoons

Fresh mint leaves,torn              2 tablespoons

Pure ghee                               4 tablespoons

Black cardamoms                    2

Saffron (kesar),mix in 1/4 cup milk           a few strands

Roasted Dry Fruits

(Almonds,Cashews)                 150gms

Tomato(sliced)                         2

METHOD

Heat five to six cups of water in a deep pan. Add drained rice, salt, bay leaves, five green cardamoms, seven to eight black peppercorns, one cinnamon stick and cook till three fourth done. Drain and set aside.

Heat sufficient oil in a pan and deep-fry half the onion slices till golden. Drain and place on an absorbent paper.

 Grind caraway seeds, one cinnamon stick, remaining black peppercorns, cloves and remaining green cardamoms to a fine powder and set aside.

 Take mutton pieces in a bowl. Add ginger paste, garlic paste and salt and mix. Add the spice powder, red chilli powder, half the fried onions crushed, yogurt, coriander leaves,Chillies, half of the mint leaves and one tablespoon oil and mix. Let it marinate for about two hours in the refrigerator.

Heat two tablespoons ghee in a pan, remaining cinnamon and black cardamoms and sauté till fragrant. Add remaining onions and sauté till light golden. Add marinated mutton, stir and cook on high heat for three to four minutes. Cover, reduce heat and cook till almost done.

 Heat the remaining ghee in a thick-bottomed pan. Spread half the rice in a layer. Spread the mutton over the rice. Sprinkle remaining torn mint leaves. Spread the remaining rice. Sprinkle saffron milk. Cover and cook under dum till done.

Garnish with fried onion,tomato slices,dry fruits and chopped herbs.

I served this yesterday with a raita made with beaten curd and boondi kernels. You can get as creative as u like!!