Mutton biryani

• Servings: 4
• Cooking rice time: 10 minutes.
• Cooking mutton time: 56 minutes
• Preparation time: 20 minutes.
• Frying  onion time: 5 minutes(each batch).
• Biryani on dum time: 25 minutes.
• Total time: 116 minutes.

Biryani’ depicted on a 2017 stamp of India. First time Biryani was prepared especially for soldiers in medieval times. The specialty of the method of Biryani preparation is that its cooking requires layering of semi cooked rice at the bottom and the top with meat in the middle.

Nowadays it is popular not only in Indian sub continent but almost throughout the world. In northern India flavors come from mace, nut Meg, saffron and kewada/ rose essence. It is paired with onion raita. In southern India flavors preferred with cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom and clove. It is paired with Dalcha (a sour brinjal curry).

On the occasion of Eid-al-fitr I would like to share ‘Mutton Biryani’ a delicious and sumptuous recipe. Eid Mubarak…

Ingredients:

For preparing mutton:

• Mutton: 500 gm
• Onion: 200 gm
• Tomato: 1 medium size
• Chili powder: 1 teaspoon
• Coriander powder: 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
• Bay leaves: 2 no.
• Cloves: 4 no.
• Garam masala powder: 1 teaspoon
• Garlic flake(big): 2 no.
• Ginger: 2 teaspoon (paste)
• Mustard Oil(edible oil): 4-5 table spoon
• Salt: 1 tablespoon (as per taste)
• Cumin seed: 1 teaspoon
• Water: 350 ml

Ingredients:

For preparing rice:

• Basmati (biryani) rice: 300 gm
• Ghee: 200 gm (for deep frying the onion)
• Onion: 200 gm
• Bay leaf: 1 no.
• Cumin seed: half teaspoon.
• Salt: 1 tablespoon
• Water: 500 ml

Ingredients for Masala Potli:

• Clove: 3 no.
• Cinnamon: 2 inch stick
• Green cardamom: 2 no.
• Black cardamom: 1 no.
• Mace: 2 inch piece
• Cumin seed: Half teaspoon
• Ginger: 1 inch piece (grated)

Ingredients:

For layering the biryani:

• Butter: 50 gram
• Garam masala powder: 1 teaspoon
• Mint leaf: 10-15 no.
• Coriander leaves: 20 gm.
• Ginger Julian: one inch piece
• Saffron: 1 pinch
• Kewra essence (optional): 2-3 drops
• Rose essence: 1 teaspoon
•  Kneaded wheat flour: to seal the cover of pot
• Edible colour (optional): 1-2 drop

Preparation for making rice:

1. Clean and wash rice. Keep aside in a sieve.
2. Chop onion longitudinally and soak in milk. Keep aside.
3. Take a muslin cloth 5 square inch. Put Potali masala ingredient in it and tie. Masala Potali is ready. Keep aside.

Method:

For making rice:

1. Take a fry pan, Heat ghee; add chopped onion which is soaked in the milk after squeezing extra milk; fry it in high flame till it gets light brown (about 4-5 minutes), remove it and keep aside.
2. Note:fry it into small batches. Do not put all the slices at a time. It will became messy.
3. Heat 2 tablespoon of ghee in fry pan with cumin seed and bay leaf. Allow to sputter it; add washed rice and fry for 2 minutes, the moment some of rice begins to change colour. Keep aside
4. Boil water with masala Potali and salt in cooker, bring it to boil; put fried rice in it.
5. Place cooker on high flame and bring to full cooking pressure; put off the flame. Rice is about 80 % done, allow cooker to cool. Keep aside.
6. After cooling the cooker, stir lightly the rice with the help of fork .keep aside, now rice is ready for biryani.

Preparation:

For mutton:

1. Clean and wash mutton.
2. Cut onion and tomatoes into small pieces.

Method:

For mutton:

1. Put oil in the  pressure cooker, heat the oil till smoke is coming; put clove, bay leaf, cumin seed, sputter for few seconds, add onion, stir fry until translucent on high flame. (About 5-6 minutes)
2. Add chopped tomato, ginger paste, and fry it about 3-5 minutes; add mutton, chilly, coriander powder. Reduce to low flame.
3. Fry mutton till liquid dries up (about 20-25 minutes); add salt and continue to roast for another 5 minutes.
4. Add  hot water; close lid and bring to full cooking pressure; reduce to lower heat and cook for 5-7 minutes, put off the flame. let cooker be cool and open.
5. Add Garam masala powder and chopped coriander leaves; now mutton is ready to use for biryani.

Now it is time to layering the biryani:

Method:

1. Take a large heavy bottom pot with fitting lid.

1. Melt 2 tablespoon of ghee in the pot, turn and rotate the pan so that ghee can spread and coat the bottom and side walls. Add half of the mutton in it, and spread all over the bottom.
2. Add layer of cooked rice; add half of the saffron milk, fried onion and 1 tablespoon of butter, ginger Julian Garam masala powder, rose water and kewra essence, sprinkle the mint and coriander leaves on it.

2^nd layer:

1.  Again pour remaining cooked mutton; add layer of cooked rice. Add remaining half of the saffron milk, fried onion and 1 tablespoon of butter, ginger Julian Garam masala powder, rose water and kewra essence, sprinkle the mint and coriander leaves on it.
2. Cover the pot with lid properly; use wheat flour dough for sealing the pot to its edges, press the dough with the help of thumb, so that steam cannot come out.
3. Take a tawa (griddle) put it on the medium to low flame; Place the biryani pot on this, cook this biryani in this process for 20-25 minutes (Dum).
4.  Note: make sure pan is heavy bottomed otherwise it will burn; put off the flame, wait for 10-15 minutes and transfer to serving plate.

5.   Delicious and aromatic biryani is ready to be served with onion raita and salad.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Mutton biryani by Nag Ratna Sahu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.