Karachi Biryani

Recently I have come across “Karachi Biryani” is few restaurant menus due to Ramadan, along the streets and at the door step. All of us knew how delicious, aromatic the Non-veg Biryani when it comes from the Pakistani cuisine. Thought why not to give a try and started surfing for the recipe, referred from Food Safari.

I would say that this was the yummiest, aromatic, easiest, simplest Biryani made with very few and common household ingredients. Each and every single bite was awesome, not only biryani lovers everyone must give a try. Usually when I prepare, there will be a small quantity (a portion for one) leftover which we use for dinner. But this time the whole biryani was finished by lunch. A must to try for this Ramadan. Let me share the recipe…

For more Biryani recipes, CLICK HERE.

Ingredients:

• Mutton / Lamb – 300 gm
• Basmathi / Long grain rice – 2 ½ cups
• Ghee / Clarified butter – 2 tbsp
• Oil – 4 tbsp
• Garlic – 9 cloves
• Ginger – 2” inch piece
• Black peppercorns – 10 nos
• Red chillies – 1 no
• Green chillies – 2 nos
• Garam Masala – 1 ¼ tbsp
• Cloves – 8 nos
• Star Anise – 3 nos
• Cinnamon – 2 nos (1” inch piece)
• Bay leaf – 2 nos
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Onions – 3 nos
• Tomato – 2 ½ nos
• Yogurt / curd – ¾ cup
• Coriander leaves – 4 stalks
• Mint leaves – 10 stalks
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Clean the mutton pieces, drain the water and keep it aside.
• Wash the rice, drain the water and keep it aside.
• Peel and thinly slice the onions, slit the green chillies into two equal halves, roughly chop the red chillies and keep it aside.
• Finely chop the tomatoes into pieces and keep it aside.
• Chop the coriander stalks and mint leaves, keep it aside.
• Take garlic, ginger and crush them well in mortar, then add in the black peppercorns and crush them roughly. Keep it aside.
• Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a kadai, add in the sliced onions and fry them until they brown in color. Remove the onion slices and keep it aside.
• Boil 5 cups of water in a heavy bottomed kadai, along with 3 cloves, 2 star anise, bay leaf and 2 cardamoms, ¼ portion of fried onions, salt and rice. Cover and cook for 20 mins or until the rice is 90% cooked. Drain the water and keep it aside.
• Heat a tbsp of oil and 2 tbsp of ghee/Clarified butter in a pressure cooker, add in the garam masala, leftover (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, star Anise), ginger-garlic-black pepper mixture, turmeric powder, green chillies, red chillies and cook for few mins or until the raw smell goes off (make sure that garam masala should not be burnt).
• Add in the tomatoes and cook for few mins or until they turn mushy.
• Add in the mutton pieces along with salt and cook for few mins.
• Add in the coriander + mint leaves, yogurt/curd and half the quantity of fried onions. Cook for few mins or until the raw smell goes off.
• Pour in 1 ½ cups of water, let it boil and pressure-cook for 5 whistles or until the mutton pieces are cooked well.
• Remove the lid when the pressure subsides.
• Take a heavy bottomed vessel, add in half the quantity of rice and make it like a bed.
• Pour in half the quantity of mutton pieces along with the gravy.
• Again add in the leftover steamed rice and spread it all over the vessel.
• Pour in the leftover mutton pieces and the gravy.
• Sprinkle little quantity of coriander + mint leaves, along with the leftover fried onions.
• Mix a tbsp of water with red color and sprinkle it over the rice.
• Cover the vessel with a lid, keep weight over it and cook in high for 10 mins.
• Carefully remove the lid, mix the rice.

Serve hot. Goes out well for lunch with raita. I have served it with onion-tomato raita, cucumber slices and Brain fry.

Note: You can increase or decrease the quantity of red chillies and pepper corns as per your taste buds.

 Author's original blog: www.madraasi.com and for step by step pictorial recipe click here.