MUTTON BIRIANI

 

There are many ways to skin a cat, apparently some smart ass once declared. We all keep quoting this guy, but I’d like to see anyone dare to skin a cat…but I digress, I actually meant to say there are countless ways to make Biryani- all of them tasty no doubt and I intend to find out by trying out all the recipes out there and I know I will enjoy myself to the core.

When thin long grain and aromatic basmati meets hot and spicy meat sauce, fall in love and marry; this,this biriani is the resultant wedded bliss.

 

You can join me in this journey by trying out the recipes I am kind enough to guinea pig (Hey I am Kenyan we MuRRRder English like So ok?) for you, or you can choose to be boring and instead live vicariously through me.. by reading and imagining how tasty it is…drab I know but hey do you darling. ( I KNOW you will try the recipe, that’s why you navigated here right?

Ok the cast of characters is nothing new if you already checked out this, this and this.

The method varies alittle bit, but the end result…I guarantee you hits the yum spot and is quite skirt raising to say the least.

Woohoo!

Isn’t this lovely?

 

Looks can be deceiving but that is not the case with this lovely lass here, it is a taste explosion and goes down a treat this cold afternoon. Anyone else miss the sun?

BOMBAY MUTTON BIRIANI

INGREDIENTS

For the rice: 

500 gm basmati rice, washed & drained (soak for 30mins to one hour)

2 bay leaves

5  cardamom pods slightly crushed to release aroma

2 cinnamon sticks

3 tsp salt

1 Tbsp garam masala

1 Tbsp garlic paste

1 Tbsp ginger paste

4 Tbsp Natural Yoghurt

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp red chilli powder

1 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

Marinating the mutton:

To the mutton add yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, salt, lemon juice and garam masala.

Allow the mutton to marinate for at the very least 3 hours or even better, overnight

Cooking the mutton:

Heat ghee (or oil) in a thick-bottomed pan.

Add remaining sliced onions and green chillies. Cook, whilst stirring continuously, till onions are light golden brown.

Add ginger and garlic paste and mix well.

Add marinated mutton and cook on high heat for seven to eight minutes.
Then add coriander powder, cumin powder and red chilli powder. Mix thoroughly.

This is going to call for awhile to proper doneness so we need enough liquid, baby.

Stir in three cups of water, bring it to a boil, reduce heat and cook covered till mutton is almost cooked.

Next add tomatoes, salt, garam masala powder and fresh coriander leaves. Cook for 15 minutes or so on medium heat, stirring occasionally. The ghee should be separated from the spices and there shouldn’t be any watery gravy to the meat.

Cooking the rice:

Use only good quality long grained aromatic basmati rice. Wash in 3-4 changes of water to ensure all starch is washed off and then soak for 30-60mins.

Bring to boil water and the spices for rice and ensure it’s well salted, we shall make the rice like pasta in plenty of boiling water and only up to 85% cooked then drain…DO NOT cook completely or you will end up with mushy goo for biriani and that is no bueno!

Drain well and gently to avoid breaking the grains

Layering the biriani:

Take a large heavy bottom pan with tight fitting lid.

Add 2tbsp ghee to the pan. Melt the ghee on low heat. Turn and rotate the pan carefully so the ghee can coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Switch off the heat.

Add a layer of cooked rice, then the cooked meat pieces, sprinkle saffron water (Or food colour water), add fried onion slices and ghee.

Again add a layer of rice, the meat, saffron water, fried onions, some ghee…go on like this till you are done. Top and bottom layer will be of rice.

Cover with chopped mint and coriander, fried onion and slit green chillies and juice of half a lemon sprinkled over the top.

Put the lid on. Seal the pan with flour dough or aluminium foil, and then put the lid. Keep the heat to it’s lowest setting. And cook the Biriani in this ‘Dum’ process for 40 minutes.

Make sure your pan is heavy-bottomed or the rice will burn. Alternatively, you can place a flat chapatti pan, directly on a low fire then set the biriani pan on that pan.

After 40 minutes– switch off the heat and let the biriani stand for another 10 minutes. Take care when opening so as not to suffer steam buns.

Transfer to a serving bowl.

All this steaming and slow cooking will make for flavourful fall off the bone melt in your mouth meat. It is a veritable taste explosion that your palate will thank you for.

Golly gee winkers, lemme just attempt to explain the bliss –Never mind I can’t even begin to…just make this and find out yourself.

COCONUT,LIME AND LENTIL RICE

 

Coconut and Lime are a match made in heaven! Mmm mmmm mmm…

So I decided to pair this heaven-sent duo in making a very flavourful and nutrient dense rice and lentil dish or as we would say in these here parts rice and dengu. Although my coastal counterparts would cringe at that being as they call the same pojo.

 

I am sure many a Kenyan growing up had their fair share of dengu (Mung Beans) with either chapatti or rice. My mum in particular had a recipe taught to her by her mum who also learnt from her Indian neighbours that we called kichri. I am almost sure kedgeree is inspired by or is an offshoot of this rice and dengu dish. My grandma’s dish was simply dengu cooked in spices then the rice would be added in and cooked. The dengu was spicy and mushy and the rice just perfect. Talk about comfort food, this was what made our days as kids, I still can’t decide if kichri or chapati and dengu so i will settle for a bowl of Kichri for lunch and some chapatti and dengu and that would be a perfect day for me.

 

Not being one to leave well alone, I was feening for some Kichri, but lately I have been enjoying lime and coconut mixes in other foods, to be shared on this blog soon and I thought to do a lentil and rice mix but do away with my well known and well loved kawaida meal and the result was this.

 

As I started the preparation this song By Harry Nilsson kept playing in my head so I just had to play it as I busied myself…I suggest you do the same for best results 😉

 

COCONUT,LIME AND LENTIL RICE:

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 red onion
1/2 red chili
thumb size piece of peeled ginger
1 clove garlic
1 cup cooked green grams (You can use any kind of lentils but be mindful of the cooking time)
1 400g can coconut milk
3 cups water
1 stock cube (optional)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
Salt & Pepper to taste
juice of 2 limes…you can use 1 if your limes are big or you want to reduce the tanginess
2 cups basmati rice soaked for at least an hour

DIRECTIONS:
1. Very finely chop the red onion – I actually like to mince mine with a knife.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a heavy based saucepan. Add the onion, season with salt n pepper, cover and allow to soften for several minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mince the chili, garlic and ginger together. Add to pan, cover and cook for a few more minutes until the flavors begin to infuse – your kitchen should be full of wonderful aromas by now.
4. Drain the cooked lentils and add to the pan along with the ground coriander and cumin. Mix thoroughly and then pour in the coconut milk and water. Sprinkle in the stock cube if using.
5. Cover, bring to the boil and add in the drained soaked rice and bring to the boil again and then lower to a gentle simmer for forty minutes, ensuring to stir gently and then cover.
6. When cooked, take off the heat, pour in the lime juice,fluff up the rice using a fork to ensure it does not break up and juice is well-distributed taste for seasoning and serve with a few fresh coriander leaves for garnish.

PLAIN BIRYANI RICE

Yes there is such a thing as plain Biryani. It is also variously known as Kuska/Khushka/Khushqa.

This rice is so flavourful and goes well with a variety of gravies,both veg and non- veg.

 

Ingredients:

For the Rice
Long grain Basmati rice – 1 kg
Oil – 1 tsp
Biriyani Masala Powder – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp (optional)
Water – as required
Salt – to taste

Thinly sliced Onions  – 2 medium sized fry until brown but not burnt

For the Biryani Masala Gravy:
Green onions chopped
Grated Tomatoes – 2 large
Green Chillies – 2
Cinnamon – 1″ piece
Cloves – 4
Cardamom – 4 pods
Fennel Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Bay leaves – 2
Cilantro (Dhania) chopped – 2 bunches
Mint leaves, chopped – 1 bunch – mix with cilantro
Fresh Ginger Garlic Paste – 2 tbsp
Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
Home Made Biriyani Masala Powder – 1 to 2 tsp
Chicken/beef or fish masala 2 Tbsp
Yogurt – 1 Cup
Lemon Juice – 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste
Ghee/Cooking oil – As required

Method:
Soak rice in water for around 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Bring around 8-10 cups of water to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and add the soaked and drained rice to the boiling water along with salt to taste, 1/2 tsp biryani masala, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1 tsp oil. Cover and cook for around 8-10 minutes checking the rice occasionally. Remove from heat and drain excess water when each grain is separate and 80 to 90% cooked but not fully cooked.

Biriani masala gravy

As you boil rice, heat a big non stick pan or wok and add 3 tablespoons of oil or ghee.  (Ghee works very well here and I highly recommend it for this dish)
If using nuts and dried fruits; fry cashews, almonds, raisins etc. until the cashews are lightly brown and the raisins become plump. Drain and keep aside.
Throw in fennel seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves and cloves. Saute for 2 minutes.
Then add  the green onions and sauté, add the green chillies,  half of the chopped cilantro and mint leaves. Continue sauteing until the onions begin to brown.
Next, add the chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are fully cooked and mashed.
Add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for a few minutes until the raw smell disappears.
Reduce heat and add 1 tsp of biryani masala powder, 2 tbsp Fish masala powder, 1 tsp chilli powder and 1/2 tsp turmeric and saute for a minute.
Use a fork to whisk 1 cup of yogurt and add it to the pan along with salt and mix well. Allow it to simmer for a while. Don’t forget to check on the rice so that it doesn’t over cook
Cover and cook on medium heat for around 10 minutes. Remove from heat and keep the masala gravy aside.
Apply some ghee or oil on a large sufuria . Layer it with the cooked rice and the onion-tomato masala gravy alternatively. Sprinkle lemon juice in between.
Cover with an aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes. You can also cook on the stove top,first on high heat for 5 minutes then low heat for 20-25 minutes
Garnish with fried nuts and dried fruits if using, I used the remaining cilantro and mint as well as the browned onions.
Serve this yummy Plain Biriyani with any vegetarian or non-vegetarian side dish, boiled eggs.
We ate this with the Parrot Fish Biryani