Biryani
Biryani is a rice dish from the Indian Subcontinent made from a mixture of spices, basmati rice, meat/vegetables and yogurt. There are many kind of biryanis and each kind has an uniqueness about it. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from East India to West India, there are different varieties of the dish. It can be considered a casserole dish, as the ingredients are ideally cooked together in the final phase and is time-consuming to prepare. Pre-mixed biryani spices from companies like ITC (under the brand name Kitchens of India), MTR etc. have become commercially available, which reduces the preparation time though the taste differs considerably.
The spices and condiments used in biryani are what primarily contribute to the taste; these are generally cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander and mint leaves, apart from ghee, ginger, onions, garlic and yoghurt. The premium varieties include saffron. For a non-vegetarian biryani, the main ingredient that accompanies the spices is the meat—chicken, goat, lamb or sometimes beef, though vegetable biryani varieties are also popular. The dish is served with raita, korma, curry or a sour dish of brinjal.
Though there are several methods of preparing biryani, the Hyderabad Biryani is by far the most popular version. Historians claim that the earlier Nawabs of Hyderabad wore a matching turban for each variety of biryani. The Nizam's kitchen boasted of 49 kinds, which included biryani made from fish, quail, shrimp, deer and hare. The Sindhi variant of biryani is very popular in Pakistani cuisine and biryani of all types are eaten in all parts of Pakistan. Another popular form of biryani is the Awadhi biryani.
In Pakistan during the past 5 years, biryani has acquired substantial popularity. This is specially the case in Karachi, where the chicken version is popular with both young and old alike as a dish of choice. This is related to Awadh biryani but combines elements of Bombay biryani and includes potatoes. A popular restaurant for the dish is Student Biryani which has a home delivery service on the pattern of US fast food chains. A tasty import from Bombay is Shrimp biryani which uses small sized shrimp.
Tehri is the name given to the vegetarian version of the dish and is very popular in Indian homes.
In Myanmar, biryani, known in Burmese as danpauk, is popular among the populace. In Yangon, there are several restaurant chains that serve biryani exclusively. It is often served at religious ceremonies and luncheons. Biryani in Myanmar utilises a special species of rice grown domestically rather than basmati.
Preparation
Preparation styles can be broadly classified into two types, Kacchi Yakhni and Pakki Yakhni, based on the major difference in the method of preparation:
- In Kacchi Yakhni (with raw gravy), the meat, marinade and rice are layered raw and cooked only by the dum or "baking process". This is a challenging process as it requires meticulously measured time and heat to avoid overcooking or undercooking the meat.
- In Pakki Yakhni (with cooked gravy), the ingredients are already cooked before baking.
One of the recipes goes as follows:
Ingredients: 1 kg chicken, preferably in 16 pieces, and a couple of Drumsticks, 1kg Basmati rice, 1 cup finely chopped onions, 2spoons ginger garlic paste, 3 spoons red-chilli powder, 1/2 spoon Turmeric, 2cupfuls of Mint leaves, 1cup coriander leaves(cilantro), 2 spoons coriander powder (dried seed), half spoon garam masala powder, 1cup cconut milk, 1 full Lemon, 1 1/2 spoon salt (or according to taste), 1cup Ghee (clarified butter), 1/2cup Yogurt, 1 cup oil, 2 spoons dried Coconut Powder, 1 cup cocunut milk, 5 drops edible Saffron colour, 1 cup longitudinally chopped onions(1), and another cup finely chopped onions(2),100gms Cashew nuts, 4-5 Bay leaves (tej patta), 4-5 cloves, 3-4 an inch-long Cinnamon sticks, 6-10 green chillis ground to paste, 3-4 Cardamom pods, 1-2 spoons shahjeera (cumin),
Preparation
Chicken Marination - Make deep incisions on the chicken flesh - deep enough for spices to get absorbed but making them too deep could render the pieces smaller. Mix turmeric, chilli powder, salt, garlic paste, yogurt, and half-lemon's juice. Thoroughly apply this paste onto the meat flesh and let marinate for an hour. An hour more would give better texture upon cooking, but be sure to refrigerate if longer than 1hr.
Heat about 100ml of oil. Roast shahjeera (a spoonful), cloves, cinnamon, depoded cardamom, bay leaves, 1 spoon coriander powder, and finally add chopped onions(2). Wait a couple of minutes to add mint leaves. When onions turn slight brown, add marinated chicken and cook for about 20-30 min. It should NOT be fully cooked at this stage; add garam masala and coconut powder and turn off flame when its about 3/4th cooked. Gravy should not be much, chicken pieces should look roasted.
Biryani Rice - Meanwhile, while the chicken is still cooking, prepare the biryani rice. Slightly rinse 3 cups of basmati, and add water little less than the volume of the rice itself so that it is only half cooked preferably in an electric cooker. Amount of water actually depends on kind of rice at hand and your experience helps to judge it. Also add 1-2 tea spoons of salt to it. Take a few semicooked grains of rice and colour them with diluted saffron for garnishing.
The Biryani - This is the trickest part. You will need a utensil of about 12" base. First, put about half of semicooked rice in it. Next make a layer of chicken (use half the entire quantity) and top it with a layer of rice (half of the remaining rice). One more layer of remaining chicken, finally with layer of remaining rice on top ends the rice-chicken layering stage.
Heat oil and deep fry onions(1) to golden brown. Similarly fry cashews. Garnish the top layer of rice with these two along with 100ml ghee, coconut milk, saffron rice grains and coriander. Lid the vessel and try making it air tight (but no pressure should build up). Put on high flame for 5 min before reducing it to low flame. The flame should NOT be at the vessel's centre, but on one side of it. Wait for 2-3 min and turn the vessel to heat other next part on its circumference. This way, keep rotating the vessel every 2-3 min for about 20 min. Everytime you turn it, carefully disturb the contents by a shake/jerk so as to avoid settling of ghee at the bottom.
Remove from the flame and wait for about 10 minutes before opening. Before serving, mix the medley from the bottom. Serve with boiled egg halves. Enjoy. Skillfully and carefully made, it is an epicure's paradise.
[Courtesy: Vinodini Reddy (Hyderabad)& Chandrakanth Reddy Terupally (US)]
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