Guest Blog: Kumar's Biriyani

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice- 3 cups
Lamb or Goat or chicken - 1 Kg, 2lb
Ginger/Garlic Paste- 3 Teaspoons
Chopped Mint/Coriander - 1 cup
Green Chillies - 4-6
Onion( Red preferably) - 2
Yogurt - 1 1/2 cups
Tomato - 1
oil-5 tablespoons
Chilli powder- 1 teaspoon
Lemon juice - 1 table spoon

Whole spices

Green Cardamom - 4
Cloves - 4
Bay leaves - 2
Black Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Whole pepper corn( black) - 6-7


1. Pour oil in a heavy bottom pan,once hot put whole spices and fry them for a few seconds.
2.Add finely sliced onions and brown them.Now add ginger/garlic paste and saute them for couple of mins until the raw smell is gone
3.Now add chopped mint/coriander leaves along with green chillies
4.After a min add meat and cook them until tender( if using lamb/Goat marinating them for 4-6 hrs or overnight with a meat tenderizier with some lime juice helps)
5.Add yogurt and cook until the fat separates,add chilli powder and lemon juice
6. Soak rice for 30mins,boil rice with some salt and couple of teaspoons of oil in 6 cups of water (be generous with water) and half cook the rice, then discard the water.
7.Now layer rice and meat in alternating layers with meat being in the bottom and finishing up with rice on the top.
8.Place them on stove top in low heat and cook for 30 mins.Make sure the pan is tightly sealed either using Aluminium foil or using a dough to seal the edges.
9. Serve it with Raita

Raita is a mixture of natural yogurt, chopped red onion, tomato, cucumber, one green chill if desired and salt (best made just before serving)

We ate this tonight, cooked by Kumar and it was delish!!!!

Enjoy!!