Coconutty Biriyani - For a Typical Kerala effect
Recipe belongs to Shanhai - our malayali friend here in salt Lake.
Though there are lot of Biriyani recipes we can try , this one is very
special and very much worth trying.
Its the tastiest Biriyani
we have ever had...
The only one recipe I tried with Coconut oil and Ghee , a
different recipe,very appealing for the Malayali's in special as its all
coconut in it. Though I tried adding a few ingredients to make it extra
tasty (I thought i would)
I liked the way it tastes when he makes it..
I liked the way it tastes when he makes it..
Since "The best things in life are meant to be shared "
Here goes the recipe for Shanhai's Special Biriyani -
Ingredients
For Rice
Basmathi Rice - 2 cups
Ghee - 3 table spoon
Saffron - few
Bay leaves – 2 no’s dry
Cinnamon and cloves – 2 to 3 (small pieces)
Cardamom – 3 to 4 no’s
Salt to taste and juice of half lime.
Meat Masala Powder
(Dry roast all
ingredients together and grind it to store these in airtight container, I make these in more quantity)
Cinnamon ( 1 medium size stick ) , cloves (3 no’s) ,cardamom
– 4 to 5 no’s , Fennel seeds – 1 table spoon , Dry whole pepper – 2 tsp.
For
Gravy
Goat Meat/Mutton - 1/2 kg
Coconut oil - 3 to 4 table spoon (or little more )
Whole spices - cinnamon , cloves, cardamom crushed)
Onion – 1 medium sliced
Shallots / small onion – 1 cup
Ginger – 1 big piece
Garlic – ¾ cup (Garlic is more than ginger in this
recipe)
Green chili’s – 12 to 15 no’s
Cilantro/Coriander leaves and Mint leaves – ½ cup each
Curd – 1 cup
Thick Coconut milk – Little more than 1 cup
Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 2 table spoon
Fennel seed powder – 2 tsp
Fenugreek Powder – 2 tsp
Ground Masala – 1 tsp (ingredients on top or use Biriyani
masala )
Cashew nuts – ¼ cup (powdered)
Salt for taste.
For
Garnishing
Ghee – 2 table spoon
Onion – 1 or more sliced
Cashewnuts – ¼ cup
Fry the onion in ghee till brown.
I was a bit impatient to wait till it becomes brown :(
Method
For Making rice
* Wash and soak rice in water for 20 minutes , drain and keep aside.
* Heat the vessel to cook the rice , add ghee , add in the whole masala's given under rice (cinnamon , cloves , cardamon and bay leaves ) saute for a few seconds and then add the drained rice , fry rice for 5 minutes in medium heat , keep on stirring and add water - little less than double amount of rice (I took a little less than 4 cups water as I took 2 cups rice)
* Add salt and saffron when water starts to boil and and wait for the rice to get cooked , stir occasionally. Make sure you stir in between or else the rice may stick to the bottom.I had kept the lid closed.
*Remove from heat when the water totally dries off.Keep aside , keep the rice open , if possible spread the rice to a flat surfaced plate.
I usually does other way , first boil water (any amount ) when it starts to boil , add all the whole spices and salt and then add the drained rice , wait for the rice to get 3/4rth cooked , add lime juice and drain the rice.
For the Gravy
* Wash and clean the mutton pieces , keep aside.
* Slightly grind (or use a chopper) small onion , ginger , garlic and green chili's and keep aside.
*Heat Oil in a pressure cooker (I used a normal pan , can save time if its a pressure cooker) , add the crushed spices (whole cinamon, cloves and cardamon (2 each ) to it, saute for a few seconds.
* Add in the ground/chopped ginger/garlic/small onion and green chili , saute these for a few minutes (5 to 7 minutes ) , add in the sliced onion and keep on stirring , these may stick to the bottom , will need to add oil or water in between. stir till the onion turns golden brown.
* Add in the spice powder (coriander powder,fennel seed powder, turmeric, fenugreek powder and a 1 tsp meat masala powder given above) you may use any packed Biriyani masala powder too but do not add more that's the trick :) just 1 tsp is enough in this Biriyani.
* Add in the marinated Goat meat , stir till all are combined and the meat is coated with the masala mixture , cook the meat keeping the lid open for 5 to 7 minutes stirring continiously.
* Add the very finely chopped cilantro/coriander leaves and mint leaves and also 1 cup curd , stir and close the lid ( 2 to 3 whistles in medium heat should do)
check if the meat is cooked well , keep the lid open and continue cooking in medium heat for another 10 to 15 minutes , do stir continuously , till the water/stock from the meat almost dries.
* Add in the coconut milk and the powdered cashew nuts continue cooking for another 10 to 15 minutes , stirring constantly. Switch off the heat when you see nice and thick gravy and the meat is cooked nicely.
Layering
- Layer first the meat pieces and a little of gravy , top with the cooked rice , sprinkle cilantro/coriander leaves and masala power (optional) , repeat the layering till the rice is all layered. Do not pour more gravy for layering the top , then we may miss the plain white rice in the Biriyani as it may all get soaked up. That's the lesson I learned this time :)
- layering usually starts with gravy first and ends up with rice on top , may sprinkle few of the left over gravy on top.
- Top with Fried onion and cashew nuts and a little of chopped cilantro/coriander leave. Cover this dish with a foil and bake in 375 degree F for at least 1 hour. ( 2 hours would be better )
Tips
: Marinating : I haven't seen our friend marinating the meat pieces , though I marinate it usually , with salt, turmeric , pepper powder , masala powder (given above) and also a table spoon of lime juice and vinegar (optional).The whole step is optional.
: If you think , the gravy is more and the rice looks soggy , bake it uncovered in 300 degree F for half an hour in the middle rack.
:If you are making white rice for the first time , its better to make rice as I do (have given on top under method for cooking rice ) , as I have experienced stickiness when rice not drained, this time it was fine , but the traditional way is how our friend does I guess.
: Since the onion used for garnishing is fried in ghee , its enough to flavor the whole biriyani , if using regular oil for frying the onion , do drizzle a little of ghee on top of the layered rice before baking.
:If you don't have a Bake oven , cover the layered pan tight , and place it over a iron skillet( can use a chapathi - tava) , heat this tava in low heat for 1 hour ,its almost a bake effect.you may also place heated coal on top of the lid , make sure the lid is heat proof.
Happy New year to all my friends !!!
Cheers
TN
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