Kayalpatnam special Mutton biriyani / An exotic biriyani with rich flavour- - with step wise pictures

              Kayalptnam or Kayal  is a town in the Tuticorin district of Tamilnadu.  As it has majority of Muslim population,it is famous for its biriyani .This biriyani is rich in texture as we are adding nuts .Another highlight of this biriyani is,it is cooked in coconut oil.This is also prepared,by keeping  in dhum The mutton is marinated with yogurt and cooked.Trditionally,muton is marinated and cooked in the gravy.But it is time consuming.So we have cooked the mutton first and then added to the gravy.I got this recipe from Asiya Omar of  Samaithu asathalam space.Thank you mam for your wonderful recipe.I have tweeked it according to my taste.This biriyani will become a must for weekends,because of its unique taste.

 

 

Ingredients:

For marination:

1.Mutton                     -           2 lb ( 1 kg)

2.Curd                         -            1/2 cup

3.Ginger garlic paste   -            1/2 tsp

4.Salt                           -             1/2 tsp

 

For gravy:

1.Onion                        -          21/2 + 1/2 (for frying) 

2.Tomato                      -          1 1/2 (big)

3.Green chillies            -           6

4.Curd                           -           1/2 cup

5.Mint leaves                -            1/2 cup(chopped)

6.Cilantro leaves           -            1/2 cup (chopped)

7.Ginger garlic paste     -            2 tsp

8.Cinnamon sticks         -            1 inch piece

9.Cloves                         -             7 to 8

10.Biriyani leaves          -            3

11.Star anise                   -            2 to 3

12.Cardamom                 -             3  to 4

13.Fennel seeds               -            1 tsp

14.Ghee                           -             50 gm

15.Coconut oil                 -             5o gm

 

 

 

 

To grind:

1.Coconut pieces                      - 2

2.Almonds                                - 2 tbsp

3.Pistachios                               - 2 tbsp

4.Cashews                                 - 2 tbsp

 

 

For cooking rice:

1.Basmati rice                            - 3 cups

2.Cinnamon stick                       - 1/4 inch

3.Cloves                                     - 3

4.Biriyani leaves                         - 1

5.Ginger garlic paste                   - 1/4 tsp

6.Salt                                            - 1/4 tsp

  

Method For preparing the gravy:

 Marinate the mutton with curd ,ginger garlic paste and salt for an hour,if the mutton is tender.Since we don't get tender mutton pieces here , I marinated over night. Take half onion and fry it till brown with little oil for garnishing.Soak the nuts for half an hour  and remove its skin.I soaked the  almonds and pistachios overnight.

 

 

       Cook the mutton with the marnation for 3 whitles or untill,the meat is fully cooked.Don't add extra water.The curd is enough to cook the mutton.Mean while wash and soak the bamati rice for half an hour and strain it completely in a colader.

 

Take a pan,add ghee , coconut oil and heat it.When it is hot enough,add cinnamon,cloves,brinji leaves,star anise and fennel seeds.When whole spices,gives out aroma,add green chillies and sliced onion.Saute the onions till it turns pinkish brown colour,add turmeric powder and chilli pwdr.Give it a toss ,till the raw smell of the chilli powder is gone. 

Now dump the tomatoe pieces and give it a stir.Don't over cook the tomato.It should not become mushy.

When the tomatoes are half cooked,add cimantro and mint leaves.Let them get mixed well.

 

Now add ginger garlic paste and give it a stir.Make sure the paste should not make the gravy stick to the bottom.Coat it well.

Now add curd to the masala and give it a stir.Cook well,till it is coated well with the masala.

Now add the cooked mutton .As the mutton is cooked well,make sure we don't mix it too much,as there are chances for the mutton to get shredded.

 

Now add the grinded coconut,almonds,cashews and pista paste .We can also reduce the amount of nuts to make a paste.Now turn the heat to medium low and cover the pan .Cook the gravy till it oozes out oil.If you feel that the gravy is dry,just add little more water .

 

This is how ,the gravy looks,when it oozes out oil.I have added 1/2 cup water as I felt my gravy was bit dry..Adjust salt to taste.

 

Cooking rice:

When the gravy is half done,start preparng the rice,as it has to be hot for keeping in dhum.Take a wide bowl,add add a tbsp of oil and splutter with cinnamon sticks,fennel seeds,cardmom and cloves.
Add little ginger garlic paste and saute it ,without sticking to the bottom.

Add 10 cups of water and bring it to boil.Now add the strained basmati rice ,some cilnatro,salt and cook it till it is 85 % done.That is ,when we take a rice in our hand it should be cooked but should be firm.

Now strain the rice in a colander and keep it ready.Save the strained water for keeping in dhum.

 

Layering and keeping in dhum:

When the rice is cooked,we can either transfer it directly to the gravy and keep in dhum or follow this method.Take a wide bowl,add little ghee at the bottom ,and take half of the gravy and spread it in the bowl.

 

 

Now transfer half of the cooked rice on top of the  gravy.Now liberally add chopped cilantro and fried onion on top.At this stage,if you want to add color to the biriyani,then mix edible food colour with water and drizzle over the rice.Layer the gravy again on top of this and spread the last batch of rice .Then spread again some fried onion and chopped cilantro.Drizzle little ghee.Adding ghee at last,gives a very good flavour to the rice.

Now place  tava a  on the stove,then place the pan of rice and gravy.Cover it with a wet cloth and tie it tightly.Place a plate on top and keep the strained hot water ,which we saved after cooking the rice.Keep in dhum for 20 minutes .

 

 

                                  After 20 minutes,fluff the rice with a fork and serve with raitha.Don't mix it too hard,as it will break the rice.Garnish with fried onion.