Kacchi Biryani

Kacchi Biryani

Five to six people's for serves

Ingredients :

Mutton ( large pieces ) - 2 kg

Polao rice - 1 kg

Ghee - 1  1/2 cup

Potatoes ( same sized ) - 500gm ( or 6 to 7 )

Chopped onions - 2 cups

Ginger paste - 2 tablespoons

Garlic paste - 1 tablespoons

Cumin powder - 1 tablespoons

Chili powder - 1 tablespoons

Plain yogurt - 1  1/2 cup

Jaiphal (nutmeg ) powder - 1 teaspoon

Jaitri (mace ) powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Cinnamon powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Crushed cloves - 1 teaspoon

Green cardamom (choto elachi ) powder - 1 teaspoon

Whole black pepper - 10 to 12

Dried prunes ( alu bukhara ) - 8 to 10

Almonds - 8 to 10

Raisins - 10 to 12 

Kewra - 4 to 5 tablespoons

Salt - as needed

Ground turmeric - just a little to add colour.

Preparation :

Clean and rinse the mutton . Marinate with 1 tablespoon of salt for half an hour. Clean the mutton again and completely rinse out all the water. Set aside. Fry the onions in a little bit of ghee untill they are crisp . Crush the onions lightly into smaller pieces ( to make beresta ) and set aside. Sprinkle a bit of the turmeric on the potatoes and fry them in the same ghee. Keep these aside . Now marinate the mutton with 1 tablespoon of salt, fried onions, ginger, garlic, cumin, chili powder, yogurt, jaiphal, jaitri, cinnamon powder, cardamom powder,cloves and kewra. Pour the marinated mutton along with the mix evenly into a large sauce pan. Set aside for now. In a separate pan start boiling 6 cups of water with 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the rice into the water. as soon as the rice starts to get cooked, turn of the heat and use a strainer to separate out the water in a different pot. Keep this rice water aside for later use. Add 1 cup of rice water and 1/2 cup of ghee into the sauce pan containing the mutton. Cover the pan and let it rest for half an hour. Do not turn on the heat yet. Now layer the fried potatoes, prunes,almonds and raisins on top of the mutton. Cover the mutton with rice, and add the remaining rice water and ghee. Make sure the water level just touches the top of the rice. Seal the cover shut by wrapping and aluminum foil all around and placing a heavy weight on top. Make sure the cover is air tight and the vapor does not get to escape. Alternatively, the cover can also be sealed using we flour dough. Finally turn on the stove and start cooking over medium heat. After 15 minutes lower the heat and cook for about an hour. Optionally, if a gas oven is used, set the temperature to 180 c/ 350f and cook for 2.5 to 3 hours. The rest of the steps are similar for both methods.Remove the cover once the very distinct biryani aroma starts to come out. If the rice still has some more cooking left, stir in a little bit of warm milk and coveer over low heat for another 10 to 15 minutes. Keep over low heat untill both the rice and meat appear soft and cooked. Mix the rice and mutton gently before serving hot.