PLEASURE IN EVERY SPOON INDIAN MUTTON/LAMB BIRYANI

Steps:

• Soak rice for 5-6 hours in water, drain and keep aside.
• Cut half the ginger into juliennes and make a paste of the rest.
• Soak saffron in warm milk and keep aside.
• Marinate the mutton or lamb in a large bowl for 4 hours in a cool place, in a mixture of yogurt, turmeric powder, salt and 1 tbsp.
• each of ginger and garlic pastes.
• Heat oil in a wok and fry half of the onions in it until brown and crisp.
• Drain on a paper towel and keep aside.
• Cook rice in salted 7 cups of boiling water alongwith the cloves, cinnamon, black and green cardamoms and peppercorns till the rice is almost cooked.
• Strain and keep rice warm.
• Heat ghee in a pressure cooker or a thick-bottomed pan.
• Add the remaining sliced onions and green chillies.
• Stir-fry till the onions turn light golden.
• Stir in the remaining ginger and garlic pastes.
• Stir-fry until the raw smell of the same is gone.
• Add the marinated mutton or lamb.
• Cook on high flame for 8 minutes.
• Mix in corriander, cumin and red chilli powders.
• Stir in 3 cups of boiling water.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce flame and cook covered till the mutton is almost cooked.
• Add tomatoes, salt and half of the garam masala powder and the fresh corriander leaves.
• Cook for 15 minutes on medium flame, stirring occasionally.
• If you are using a pressure cooker to cook the mutton or lamb, add chopped tomatoes, salt, garam masala powder, 2 cups of water and chopped fresh corriander leaves after adding the dry spices.
• Pressure cook till the mutton is almost cooked.
• (It normally takes 2-3 whistles to cook).
• Ensure that the cooked mutton does not have a thin gravy.
• If that is the case, cook on high flame to reduce the gravy.
• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Arrange half the quantity of cooked mutton in an oven-proof dish.
• Spread half the quantity of cooked rice on top of the mutton.
• Sprinkle a little of the remaining garam masala powder, mint leaves, saffron dissolved in warm milk and half each of ginger juliennes.
• Dot the rice with half the quantity of butter.
• Spread the remaining mutton on top of the rice, followed by cooked rice and repeat the earlier process with the remaining quantity of ginger juliennes, saffron milk, garam masala powder, mint leaves and butter.
• Cover it with aluminium foil.
• Cook in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes at 180C.
• Garnish with the fried sliced onions and serve with mixed fruit and vegetable raita as an accompaniment.
• Enjoy!