NOORANI BIRIANI
Ingredients:
For the meat:
mutton – 750 gm
preferably from the raan, cut into large pieces
medium potatoes, halved – 250 gm
onion paste – 1/2 cup
browned onion paste – 1/4 cup
ginger paste – 1 tbsp
garlic paste – 2 tsp
raw papaya paste – 2 tsp
curd – 150 gm
groundnut oil – 2 tbsp
ghee – 1 tbsp
salt – to taste
Grind to a paste:
shahjeera – 1/2 tsp
Kababchini – 1/2 tsp
white pepper – 1/2 tsp
cloves – 5
cinnamon – 2.5 cm
green cardamoms – 5
mace – 2
nutmeg – 1/4
For the rice:
basmati rice – 2 cups
ghee – 100 gm
garam masala powder – 1 tsp
powdered nutmeg – 1/4 tsp
powdered mace – 1/4 tsp
2 tbsp kewra water a generous pinch of saffron, a pinch of edible biriani colour.
You will also need:
sprigs of mint – 10-12
ginger juliennes. sliver warq – 11/2 tbsp
Method:
?Meat: Marinate the mutton in all the masalas and beaten curd and salt for 2 – 3 hours.
?Heat the oil and ghee together in the pressure cooker. Add the mutton. Stir well. Cover and cook over a medium heat, stirring continually, till the oil floats on top. Add the potatoes and 1/2 cup of water and pressure cook for 7-8 minutes. The potatoes may be smeared with a little biriani colour and sauted before adding to the meat.
?Rice: Parboil the rice. Drain and spread on a tray to cool. Mix the kewra water and saffron.
?Heat the ghee. Remove from fire, add the masalas. Add the rice and the saffron, which has been previously soaked in kewra water.
?Take a baking dish and grease with 1 tbsp ghee. Take out the potatoes from the meat and layer half them at the bottom. Top with half the mutton and half the rice. Sprinkle a little of the gravy. Repeat this once more. The last layer should be of rice. Top with the mint sprigs and ginger juliennes.
?Cover with aluminium foil and bake in an oven preheated to 190 degree C / 380 degreeF for 15-20 minutes.
?Alternatively, cook the biriani over dum for 20 minutes.
?Take out the biriani and serve garnished with silver warq and quartered hardboiled egg.
