Goat (or lamb) biryani

Every culture has a special rice dish: paella for the Spanish, risotto for the Italians, fried rice for most of Asia, pilafs for the Mediterranean and Middle East, and, of course, biryani for India. And, in my opinion, biryani rules them all.

Long-grain basmati rice cooked with spices, layered with an aromatic "korma" or curry of meat or vegetables, comes together in an amazing dish. The biryani was brought to India by the Mughals, who cooked rice with lentils and meat. While the Mughals ruled India, the local Indian spices and cooking techniques influenced the dish, transforming it into what is today known as biryani. https://www.abowlofsugar.com/cookbook-index-1/rasika

A biryani is almost always layered, with a layer of "korma" between two layers of rice. In Hyderabad, a city renowned for its biryanis, the dish is sealed and cooked over a slow fire for 12-15 hours to seal in all the flavours. Making a biryani is an art form!

We always serve biryani with a raita and a yoghurt sauce. A raita cools your palate from all the spices in a biryani and refreshes it from fatigue.

You can get two excellent recipes for Mango raita and Pineapple raita on this blog.

I also serve every biryani with the extra-spicy Dahi mirch (read more here). This condiment is made of chile peppers that have been soaked in salt and yoghurt and dried, fiery, salty and delicious.

Rasika is a beautiful cookbook of contemporary Indian flavours. The chef has taken a variety of fabulous recipes and presented them in a modern setting, like this raita. I recommend this book to those who want something different on their table.

For more wonderful recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

Goat (or lamb) korma:

1 quart plain yogurt, full fat preferred

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 tablespoon ground coriander seed

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 whole green cardamom pods

4 whole cloves

1 inch cinnamon stick

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 large bay leaf, cut into two

1 large yellow onion, finely sliced

3 teaspoons garlic paste

1 teaspoon ginger paste

3 Thai green chilies, diced fine, or to taste

1 flake of mace, ground into a powder

1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

2 lb goat meat with bone (or lamb)

Salt to taste

1 deep Pyrex dish or oven proof dish (9X9)

Rice:

3 cups basmati rice

1/2 cup whole milk

1 pinch saffron threads

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon kewra (screwpine) water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 whole green cardamom pods

3 whole cloves

1/2 inch cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf, halved

Salt to taste

Assembly:

1/2 cup whole milk

Fried onions

2 tablespoons cilantro, minced

Dahi mirch

To make the "korma", In a bowl, add the yoghurt, turmeric, coriander powder, and ground cayenne and whisk till smooth. Set aside. In a deep pot, heat the oil and add the cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon sticks, cumin seeds, and bay leaves. Cook on medium heat till the cumin turns golden. Add the onion and saute till the onions are well browned about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger paste and cook for 1 minute. Add all the rest of the spices, cardamom powder, garam masala, mace, salt, and green chiles, and cook for 1 minute, careful not to burn the powdered spices. Add the yoghurt mix and cook on medium heat until it bubbles. Add the goat pieces and fold into the gravy. I cook the gravy with a splash of water in an Instapot for 50 minutes. Alternatively, you can simmer on the stove for 1.5-2 hours, adding some water, if required, to keep the ingredients from burning till the meat is fork tender. The resulting "korma" should be thick, the sauce coating the meat heavily, and the oil should have separated from the curry. Set aside to cool.

To cook the rice, add all the ingredients, mix well, and cook it either in a rice cooker or on the stove. If you cook on the stove, stir the rice occasionally so it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

To assemble the biryani, add an even layer of rice using about half the rice in an oven-proof dish or Pyrex dish. Layer the ' korma' over the rice and pat down to make an even layer. Add the final layer of rice on top. Pour the milk over the biryani and sprinkle with fried onions and cilantro. Add a couple of dahi mirch as decorations. Cover with a tight-fitting lid or foil, sealing all the sides, and set aside until ready to bake.

To serve:

Heat the oven to 375°F, with the rack in the centre. Place the sealed dish in the oven and bake for 45-60 minutes. Remove, open at the table so the guests get their first whiff of the biryani's steam, and serve. Have extra dahi mirch on the side at the table.