BALSARI BIRIANI
Ingredients:
piece of ginger – 5 cm
cloves of garlic – 12
green chillies – 6
mutton, a pinch of saffron – 1 kg
lime juice – 1
basmati rice – 1/2 kg
salt – to taste
cinnamon sticks – 2
black cardamoms – 2
large onions, sliced – 3
ghee – 1/2 cup
chopped coriander leaves – 1 cup
curd – 200 gm
shelled peas – 11/2 cups
?Grind the ginger and garlic, mince the green chillies. Cut the mutton into medium sized pieces and rub well with the ginger paste, and green chilli. Leave to marinate for an hour. Soak the saffron in the lime juice. Boil the rice with enough water, salt, cinnamon and black cardamoms. Cook till the rice is three fourth done. Strain and keep aside.
?Slice the onion and fry in half the ghee till crisp and brown. Drain and reserve on a piece of paper to dry.
?Mix the coriander leaves, saffron soaked in lime juice, crushed fried onion, beaten curd, marinated meat, remaining ghee and salt in a degchi. Bring to the boil, add peas and salt; lower heat and simmer till the meat is tender and the liquid almost absorbed.
?Remove half the meat from the pan and keep aside. Put half the rice in a layer over the meat and spread over the rice the other half of the meat. Top with the remaining rice and level the surface. Sprinkle with a little extra melted ghee. Cover tightly and cook for about 20 minutes on low heat.
