"Traditionally in kerala the muslims served biriyani on all important occasions. Malabar coast of kerala is a treasure house of biriyanies .Over the years it has become of very popular with other communities in kerala .Rice and chicken are baked in rich gravy to produce a highly aromatic and deliciously spicy preparation." - Sulekha States this.
Malabar biriyani is rich in texture and taste. Here I have added Poppy Seeds. This gives a thickened curry base for the biriyani. When Geetha and I discussed about the themes for the series, biriyani was my first choice. Since it cannot be prepared at once, prepared all my biriyanis 1 month before ,every other week. Since I have already posted other kind or biriyanis, it was tough to choose some unique biriyanis. Still , I think I have given justice to the series. Stay tuned for other kind of biriyanis in next few days.
Check my other biriyanis.
To Marinate:
1.Mutton - 1 kg
2.Onion - 1/2
3.Tomato - 1
4.Green chillies - 2
5.Curd - 1/2 cup
6.Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
7.Chilli powder - 2 tsp ( Or biriyani masala)
8.Salt- as needed
For the Biriyani:
1.Onion - 3
2.Tomatoes - 2
3.Green chillies - 3
4.Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
5.Mint leaves - handfull
6.Cilantro - hand full
7.Chilli powder - 1 tsp
8.Salt - as needed
9.Garam masala - 1 tsp
10.Cashew - 5
11.Raisins - 6 to 7 (optional)
a.To temper:
1.Oil - 1/4 cup
2.Cardamom pods - 3
3.Cinnamon - 1 inch
4.Cloves - 4
5.Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp
6.Bay leaves - 2
b. To cook rice:
1.Basmati rice - 2 1/2 cup
2.Oil - 1/2 tsp
3.Bay leaves -1
4.Cloves- 2
5.Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
6.Water - 5 cups
7.Salt - to taste
c. To grind:
1.Cashews - 3
2.Poppy seeds - 1/4 tsp
Method :
Marination:
* Take a pan, add curd,turmeric pwdr,chilli pwdr,chopped onion,tomatoes ,salt and green chilli . Blend the spices well. Now add the mutton pieces and marinate . Let this sit for atleast 1/2 an hour or overnight. 
Baking Onions:
* Chop the onions finely. We are going to make fried onion, but in a healthy way. We are going to bake the onions.Take half the onion and place it on the pan. Spray some oil on the onion . Pre heat the oven at 350 degree Farenhiet.
* Bake the onion for atleast 20 mins or untill the onion turns golden brown. Spray little oil now and then. Turn off the oven and let the onion sit in the oven . This will make the onion crispier.
 Preparing the masala:
* While the onions are baking, soak the rice for atleast 20 mins. Take a dutch oven or a oven safe pan, add oil and temper with the tempering ingredients. Now add the remaining onion and saute it till it becomes golden brown.
* Now add ginger garlic paste ,green chillies and tomatoes. Sprinkle salt for the tomatoes to mash.
* Now add the marinated mutton to the pan. Cook the mutton for alteast 30 mins. You can skip this step and pressure cook the marinated mutton along with juice for 3 whistles or untill the mutton is cooked. This is bit time consuiming ,but it tastes good.
* At last, add grinded cashew and poppy seed paste to the gravy. The the gravy,should loose its moisture. The oil should ooze out from the mixture.
Cooking the rice:
* While the biriyani masala is cooking, take a pan add oil and splutter with cloves,cinnamon,bay leaves. Add some baked onion to the pan.
 
* Boil the water to rolling boil. Add it to the pan. Add salt and cover it. The rice should be done.But make sure it does not break.
Keeping the biriyani in dhum:
* Now lets keep the biriyani in dhum. The biriyani masala is ready.As you see the mutton is cooked to 90% . And the masala has released the oil.
* Spread the cooked rice on top of the biriyani masala.Reserve 1 cup of cooked rice.
* Now sprinkle the baked onions and cahsews. As I ran out of raisin, couldn't use it .But if youhave ,just use it. When we eat the biriyani, we will have a mix of sweet from the raisins and a spiciness from the biriyani.
* Cover the pan tightly and keep in dhum for atleast 20 mins.I have kept the biriyani pot , in my pre heated oven at 350 degree Farenhiet.You can keep the biriyani in stove top too. After keeping in dhum, mix the rice with the masala.While serving , add 1 cup of biriyani and reserved cooked rice alternatively .This will give a marble effect to the biriyani.
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Notes:
* Bake the onions till it turns golden brown.
* The gravy for the biriyani has to be thick loosing all the moisture.
* The rice has to be cooked al dente.
* The mutton has to be cooked 90% ,while cooking the gravy.
* We can alternatively, cook the mutton in pressure cooker, to save time.
* Adding raisins ,give a sweet punch to the biriyani.
* The cashews has to be plain, which will give a nutty texture to the biriyani.
* Marinating the mutton makes the mutton sos soft. So don't skip it.
* We can also deep fry the onions ,if you don't like baking.
Linking this to "Friendship 5 Series ", started by "Savitha Ramesh" and "Geetha Achal"
Looks very tempting; yummy.
ReplyDeleteDelicious briyani.
ReplyDeleteWonderful preparation n tempting pics,m always stays in first place fr biryani...awesoem.
ReplyDeleteScrumptious Briyani..Love the platter.yumm
ReplyDeleteThat's looking so inviting. Fabulous.
ReplyDelete