GOSHT KI DUM AWADHI BIRYANI

INGREDIENTS:    serves 4

1kg  rice
1kg  mutton (1/2 kg boneless and 1/2 kg on the bone),
                             cut into 50gm pieces
50g  onions, sliced
40gm  ginger-garlic paste
15gm yellow chilli powder
200gm  yoghurt
2  tbsp cream
6  green cardamoms
4  cloves
1  blade mace
1  litre water
20gm  almond paste
Salt, to taste
2  drops vetiver (kevda ) essence
1  tbsp  rose water
150ml  clarified butter or ghee
For the spice-mix (broiled )
2gm each, cinnamon, mace and nutmeg
5gm  green cardamom
2  cloves

Method:

• Wash and clean mutton. Grind all the spices in the spice-mix together. Wash and soak rice for one hour in water. Fry onion in ghee till golden brown.
• Remove onion, and to the same oil, add ginger-garlic paste, yellow chilli powder, spice-mix (retain a pinch of the mix to use later ), salt, almond paste, yoghurt and mutton.
• Saute till mutton turns a golden colour. Add water and cook on a slow fire till mutton is tender. Remove the mutton pieces and strain the stock through a fine sieve.
• parboil rice with cloves, green cardamom and mace and set aside. Layer the pot (preferably non-stick) with half the rice and cover it with lamb pieces. Add cream to the mutton stock and pour half this mixture over mutton. Sprinkle half the browned onions.
• Dissolve saffron, kevda and rose waters in warm water and sprinkle half of it over mutton. Layer the remaining rice over mutton and pour the remaining stock mixture.
• Top rice with the rest of the browned onion. Sprinkle the pinch of spice-mix over the rice and place on dum for 20-25 minutes. Open and serve hot garnished with fried sliced onions and garlic-flavoured raita.

HYDERABADI BIRYANI

INGREDIENTS:      Serves 4-5

500g  basmati rice
1kg  mutton (chopped into small pieces)
2  tsp  garam masala
6  red chillies
1/2  cup cashew nuts
5  onions (thinly sliced)
2  cloves
2  cinnamon
3  cardamom
6  green chillies
100g  coriander leaves chopped
100g  mint leaves
2  tsp  ginger garlic paste
2  pinches saffron
1  cup  curd
4  tsp  lemon juice
5  tbsp  ghee or oil
Salt


Method:
Marinate the mutton with ginger garlic paste, curd and salt for 1/2 hr.
Grind red chillies and cashew nuts to a fine paste and keep aside.
Fry thin onion slices in 1 tbsp oil and keep aside.
Heat 3 tbsp oil in a cooker and fry the red chilli cashew paste. Add marinated mutton along with 1/4 fried onions, garam masala and salt. Fry till oil leaves pan. Add 1-1/2 cup water.
Pressure cook the mutton for about 20 min.
In a separate pan heat 1 tbsp oil. Add clove, cinnamon, cardamom and fry.
Add rice, green chillies, salt and 1 litre water.
Cover and cook till rice is half done. Drain the remaining water.
Spread the rice in a plate.
In a vessel mix together chopped coriander, mint and the remaining fried onions and keep aside.
Take a heavy bottomed pan and line it with ghee.
Spread a layer of rice and cover it with half of the mutton.
Sprinkle half of the coriander/ mint mixture and juice of 1 lime.
Cover with another layer of rice, followed by another layer of mutton, then coriander/ mint and lime layer. Finish with a rice layer.
Sprinkle the rice with saffron milk and dot with ghee.
Cover the lid tightly and cook for 15 mins on a very low flame.
Serve hot.