Mr. Parveez, my better half is from Bangalore and only after I got marrried, I realized how many varieties of Non vegetarian food Muslims cook. I understand most of you find my stories a little funny to understand and its kind of hard to relate to. Its tough
I hail from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, where muslims probably make only 10% of the total population and most of them do not cook a lot of variety. While growing up, my mom was kind of the only woman I knew who made Biryani and we would see tons of people every Eid to have the special dish. Not just Biryani, but my mom’s Roast Chicken, Keeme ke samose, Tikka Boti and Kebabs were very exclusive and super delicious. I grew up believing that her food was a huge variety and at least it was not the same mutton curry, chicken curry and pulao, something standard at all our relatives.
Our visits to Delhi and Mumbai had us trying different cuisines at restaurants, but in my mind I always thought that it wasn’t something so commonly made at homes. When I got married, my outlook towards Muslim home food changed. This is when I realized that kebabs and curries could be made in so many different varieties and it was kind of important for every Muslim family to make a better variety than others for their gathering. It would amaze you if you were to go for parties to Muslim families, because its a competition to be better than the other.
This was my introduction to my Mughal Family and Mughlai cuisine. They say marriages are made in heaven and the Almighty know the right soul mate for you. In my case, he knew I need to be married in a family that loved food and wanted someone who shared the same passion as them, and I feel blessed.
So, Bangalore is where I discovered this Biryani. Its one of the Mughlai recipes that is pretty popular in Muslim families. But, as much as its popularity is all around Bangalore, not everyone can make it properly. This is my version of Kofta Biryani. I steam the the koftas before i cook them with the gravy and the water that is left behind after steaming koftas can be used to cook rice.
This Biryani is great, but won’t recommend it for beginners.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Passive Time | 40 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 500 gms Mutton [boneless] Minced
- 300 gms Long grain Basmati Rice washed and soaked for 20 minutes
- 4 No. Onions sliced
- 1/2 cup Mint leaves
- 1/2 + 1/4 cup Coriander leaves
- 3 No. Bay leaves 2 for Yakhni + 1 for Rice
- 6 No. cloves
- 4 No. Green cardamom
- 1 No. Cinnamon stick medium size
- 1/2 tsp Black cumin shahi zeera
- 1/2 tsp saffron strands
- 1 TBSP Ghee
- 3 TBSP Ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tsp Salt More or less according to your taste
- 2 tsp Red chili powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1/2 tsp Cumin powder
- 1 TBSP Corn Starch Powder
- 1 TBSP Besan
- 3 TBSP Screw pine water Kewra water, Mix 1/4 tsp of orange food color [optional]
- 1 No. Onion chopped
- 8 No. Green chilies
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp Safflower
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
- 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 2 No. Black Cardamom
- 2 TBSP Ghee
Ingredients
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- Make a puree of chopped Onion, 1/4 cup Green Coriander, Green chilies, Fennel seeds, Safflower, Cinnamon powder, Black pepper and 1 Clove.
- Preparing the meat balls. Mix the minced meat with the puree. Add 1 TBSP of ginger garlic paste. Mix well.
- Add ½ tsp of turmeric powder and ¼ tsp red chili powder.
- Add salt and cumin powder. Also add Besan and corn starch. Mix everything well.
- Make the meat balls and steam them. Keep the stock aside.
- In another pan, prepare the yakhni, add oil. Once the oil warms up, add bay leaves, cloves, cardamom, shahi zeera and cinnamon stick.
- Add the sliced onions and saute till they turn golden brown. Keep 2 TBSP aside to use for garnishing. Leave the rest in the pan.
- Add the half of the mint leaves and coriander leaves. Add the Ginger garlic paste.
- Add the remaining turmeric powder and Red chili powder.
- Add the tomatoes and cook till its all mushy.
- Add the yogurt and mix well. Let it all come to a boil.
- Add the steamed koftas and let them cook for 5-7 minutes on medium flame. Add Salt.
- Add the remaining mint leaves, green chilies and coriander leaves. Now, let the yakhni come to a boil. Let it simmer for another 10 mins. At the end there should be around 1 cup gravy left in the yakhni.
- We will now start working on the rice. Drain the water in which rice is soaked. Add Ghee in a pan and the spices for the rice. Spices for the Rice: Safflower – 1 tsp, Bay leaf – 1, Cumin seeds – ½ tsp, Black cardamom – 2
- After 2 minutes add the meat stock [water in which we steamed the koftas] and additional water. Altogether, its should be 10 cups of water. Add kewra water and 1 tsp of salt. Add handful of mint leaves as well.
- Once it comes to a boil, add the rice. In a few minutes rice should start boiling, Give it 5-7 mins, check the rice, it should be two third done. It should be softer from the middle and hard from the sides. You could take a grain in hand and check it. Drain the water and keep the rice in a flat pan.
- Time to assemble: A few tablespoons of oil from the yakhni at the bottom of the pan. Add one third of the rice, followed by half of the yakhni and another one third of the rice. Again the remaining of the yakhni and covered by the remaining rice.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. You can add few onion rings when you are layering the yakhni, though its optional. Garnish with fried onions and Kewra water with color. Cover with a tight lid and place in the oven for 40 mins.
- Decorate with some silver leaf if you desire. Serve with cucumber tomato raita. Enjoy!!!
