Click here for my pakki recipe.
Ingredients:
Lamb chops or large pieces of meat on the bone: 2 kg
Rice: 750 ml
Salt: 2 tsp or acc. to taste bearing in mind salt is also added to the rice
Oven-proof pan
Cling films
To marinate:
garlic paste 2 tbsp or 6 crushed garlic clove
ginger paste 2 tbsp, both ginger and garlic pastes are preferably made fresh in the blender
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Mace 1/2 tsp
grated nutmeg 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder 1/2 tsp
ground turmeric 1/2 tsp, optional
black paper 1/4 tsp or acc. to taste
thick full fat yoghurt e.g. Greek/Turkish 500 ml
lemon juice 3 tbsp
meat tenderiser (optional) 1 tsp
green cardamom pods 6: de-podded/crushed
black cardamom pods 2
cinnamon stick 1 inch: broken up
clove 3
For rice
Salt
bouquet garni (optional) made of several bay leaves, cinnamon stick, black cardamom and few cloves tied in a muslin.
For spreading:
Fried onion (prepare as described in the chicken biryani): 2 cups
Dried apricot/dried golden plum (aloo Bokhara) 10
Rosewater 4 tbsp ( available from asian shop): ideal but not essential
Warmed milk 1/2 cup
cashew nuts: 1 cup
dried berries acc. to preference: optional, 2 tbsp
saffron: few threads
skinned, squared lightly fried potatoes -6-8 pc (optional)
clotted cream: 1/2 cup
Ghee/butter, 2 tablespoon, omit for a healthier meal
Procedure:
- Dry toast whole spices (clove, cinnamon, cardamom) on a hot pan for 1 minute then grind them coarsely.
- mix them with other marinating ingredients. The rub the marinade over chops. Put them in a fridge covered with a cling film overnight.
- Next day add saffron to rose water in a cup and leave them for at least an hour.
- Wash rice in tap water, then leave it to soak for at least 1/2 hour. Just before cooking drain and wash with cold water in 2-3 batches.
- Take 10 cups of water in a pan, put 1 tsp salt. When water starts to boil thoroughly drop the bouquet garni if using, then pour in drained rice. when rice is half cooked usually in less than 5 minutes, drain off water. Discard the
- Preheat oven to 120 c
- Choose a wide oven-proof tight lidded pan. line bottom and sides with melted butter or ghee. put a thin layer of rice at the bottom to prevent meat from getting burnt. Place marinated meat and juices over it.
- Spread Rice in two layer. after spreading first layer of rice over meat mixture, pour half of rosewater, onion, milk and other ingredients for spreading evenly over the surface of the rice. Spread next layer of rice and repeat the process with the remaining ingredients. Seal the top of the pan with two layers of cling film and bring to boil. When steam starts to press the film and you can see water droplets forming underneath (approx 10 minutes), cover the pan with a lead and put inside the oven and bake for 1&1/2 hours or until rice is done.
- Just before serving mix rice and meat, stirring with a large spatula from the bottom of the pan taking care not to break the meat which might be very soft. Or if you fancy you can serve without mixing but this will require a bit of skill: Tilt the pan 45 degree and carefully insert a side plate by the edge of the pan up to the bottom; take out one portion of meat and rice mix in one go and present to a dinner plate; repeat the process for other guests. This way you will be able to present the biryani with its layers intact. Serve with cucumber raita or churney.
