Ingredients

•  1kgchicken(onthebone)•  3cupsbasma5rice•  1½cupyogurt•  1Tbsplemonjuice•  10-12tspgratedginger•  2Tbspgingerjuliennes(thinstrips),forfinishing•  10-12tspgratedgarlic•  6-8greenchilies,sliced•  50gmintleaves,roughlychopped•  50gcorianderleaves,roughlychopped•  8cupsonions,sliced•  6cupstomatoes,sliced•  2tspredchilipowder•  3tspgarammasala(Indianspicemix)•  4-5tspcorianderpowder•  4-5tspturmeric•  1cup(250ml)pureghee(IndianclarifiedbuKer,seephoto),includeswhatyouwillneedforfrying•  10-12wholepeppercorns•  7-8bayleaves•  4staranise•  10-12cloves•  8greencardamoms•  4cinnamons5cks(mediumsize)•  Muslincloth/highlyporouscloth:3inchx3inchsquare•  3Tbspsalt(oraddi5onaltotaste)•  5-10strandssaffron(op5onal)•  2-3Tbspdilutedrosewater,(1tsprosewaterto¼cupwater)•  1Tbspmilk(op5onal)•  Nons5ckpotwithlid/claypotwithlid(Thisisforgiving'Dum'totheBiryaniattheend)•  Dough(wholewheatflour)–ForsealingthePotattheend.Shouldbehard.

N.CentralIndianChickenDumBiryaniServes8peopleassumingit’samaindishservedwithsides.Bestservedhot

Source:Ambica’sBrother’sRecipe

Cook:AmbicaPruthiMaincourse,GF,inexpensive

Ghee

Instruc-ons(Marina-ngtheChicken)Candoonthepreviousnightoratleasttwohoursinadvance.•  PlaceyogurtandlemonJuiceinabowl.Add1teaspoonsalt,halfofgratedgarlicand

ginger,1tspofredchilipowder,1½tspofgarammasala,1½teaspooncorianderpowderand1½teaspoonofturmericandmixwell.Addthechickenpiecesandmixagainsothatallthechickenpiecesarewellcoveredwiththeyogurtmixture.Coverthebowlandkeepitaside.

Instruc-ons(Biryani)•  WashandsoakBasma5riceforhalfanhourin1.75mesofwater(5cupsinthiscase).•  Placeakadai(deepironwok)onhighheatandpour1cupofghee.Whensmallbubbles

appearattheboKomofthewok,add3cupsslicedonionsandfry5lltheonionsturngolden(caramelize).DrainwiththesloKedspoonandplaceonplate

•  Takeapieceofcloth.Placeitflatandput6wholepeppercorns,2staranise,6greencardamoms,6clovesintoitand5etheendstogethertomakeaball.Placeadeepnons5ckpotonhighheatandpourin4cupswaterinwhichricewassoakedin.Addtheballofspicestoitand4-5bayleaveswith1/2teaspoonsalt.Whenthewatercomestoaboiladdthericeandcook5llthericeisparboiled.Keepthepancoveredatall5mes.Ifthereisanywaterremaininginthericepouritoutfromthepanandreserveitforlateruse.

•  Placeanotherdeepnons5ckpanonmediumheatandpourin8-10tablespoonsghee.Youcanusethesameonewhichyouusedtofrytheonions.Addremaininggreencardamompods,cloves,cinnamons5cks,staranise,wholepeppercorns,bayleavesandsautéfor1minuteor5llfragrant.Addgreenchilies,remaininggingerandgarlicgratedtothisandsautéforonemoreminute.

•  Addthe4cupsslicedonionsandsauté5lllightgolden.•  Addtheslicedtomatoesandremainingcorianderpowder,turmericpowder,redchili

powder,teaspoongarammasalapowderand½tbspsalt.Sautéforabout5minutes.Coverandcookfor2minutes.

•  (Op5onal)Atthispointwhiletomatoesarecookingdissolvesaffroninwarmmilkandletitsleavethecolortothemilk

•  Preheattheoventomaximumtemperature(230degreesCelsiusinthiscase)for10minutes

•  Addthemarinatedchickenandcookonhighheatfor5minutes.DependingontheliquidjuicesinthepanaddliKlefromthedrainedricewaterorfreshwateriftherewasnoricewaterlei(Wedon'twantthechickentobeverywateryasitwillmakericewaterylater.Itshouldbesemiliquid).Mixwellandreduceheatlejngitsimmerfor10to15minutesor5llthechickenis90%cookedandtender.Addallchoppedcorianderleavesandmixwell.

•  Dependingonthequan5tyofchickenandriceprepareapan(sameoneoraseparateone)forsingleordoublelayeringofchickenandrice.

•  IfdoingaSinglelayer,inthesamepotspreadthericeoverthechickenevenly.Sprinklethesaffronmilk(Op5onal),dilutedrosewater,2pinchesofgarammasalapowder,2teaspoonsofmeltedgheeonthetop,gingerjulienne,choppedmintleavesandbrownedonions.

•  Rollthewholewheatflourdoughintoathincylinderandarrangeitontherimofthepanandputthelidon.Thenagainrollthedoughintocylinderanddoonemorelayerontherimandlidjointtosealit100%.Thedoughhelpstosealthepanandthuspreventtheflavorsfromescaping.

•  Placethesealedpotintheovenfor30-35minutes•  Removethepotsandletthemsitoutsideasisfor10moreminutes.•  Openthesealanddigthebiryaniver5callytoscoopoutboththelayersandplateit.Server

withRaita(Beatenyogurtmixedwithroastedcuminpowderandrocksalt(ifneeded)

AliKletaleaboutBiryaniBiryaniisderivedfromtheFarsiword'Birian'.Basedonthename,andcookingstyle(Dum),onecanconcludethatthedishoriginatedinPersiaand/orArabia.ItcouldhavecomefromPersiaviaAfghanistantoNorthIndia.ItcouldhavealsobeenbroughtbytheArabtradersviaArabianseatoCalicut.WeknowthehistoryliKlebeKerduring1800to1900.DuringMogulempire,LucknowwasknownasAwadh,givingrisetoAwadhiBiryani.In1856,Bri5shdeposedNawabWajidAliShahinCalcuKa,givingrisetoCalcuKaBiryani.AurangzebinstalledNizam-ul-mulkastheAsfaJahirulerofHyderabad,aswellasa'NawabofArcot'tooverseeAaruKaaduregion(SixForests)southofHyderabad.ThesemovesgaverisetoHyderabadiBiryaniandArcotBiryani.TheBiryanispreadtoMysorebyTipuSultanofCarna5c.NeedlesstosayitwasaroyaldishforNawabsandNizams.TheyhiredvegetarianHindusasbookkeepersleadingtothedevelopmentofTahiriBiryani.Thereareothervariants(brothersandsisters)whichare:TurkishPilaf,IranianBiryani,Quaboli,MalaysianBiryani,IndonesianBiryani,SindhiBiryaniIdiyappamBiryanifromSriLanka,andKashmiriYakhniBiryani.Inactualtherearetwotypesofbiryaniwhicharedifferen5atedbymethodsofcooking:Methodofprepara5onofbiryanihasevolvedthroughdifferentphasesadaptedinsmallwaysovertheyearssuchthatnowsomestatearefamousforitsownspecificstyleofcooking.•  Pukki(cooked)Biryani-Rice,meatandsaucearecookedseparatelyandthenlayeredinthefinalstage

ofcooking.Thismeansthatthericeandthemeatretaintheirindividualtasteandflavoring.•  Kacchi(Raw)Biryani-Rawmeat(Goatorlamb)andricearebothcookedtogethermarinatedinyogurt

andspicesandisplacedattheboKomofthecookingpot.Itisthencoveredwithalayerofpotatoesandthenriceontop.Finally,itisthensealedtopreventanysteamfromescaping.ItisliKlepainstakingbecausethemeatusedinthisisrawandputitattheboKomofapancookingslowly.Itkeepsthemeatveryjuicyflavorful,moretasty

RegionalBiryanitypes•  Lucknow(Awadh)biryani–Itusesthemostoriginalrecipeofbiryaniusingthe‘dumpukht’method

anditisregularlyknownasDumBiryani.‘Dumpukht’literallytranslatesfromPersianas‘slowoven’.Itisoneofthemostrefinedmethodsofcooking,usedinbothIndiaandPakistanforthelast200years.

•  PeshawarBiryani-PeshawariBiryaniusesnomeat.Redandwhitebeans,KabuliChana,blackgram,andgreenpeasarelayeredinbetweentherice.Cashewnuts,almondsrosewaterandsaffronareaddedforarichdensityofflavor

•  CalcuAaBiryani–SecondformatofbiryaniemergedwhentheBri5shRajdeposedNawabWajidAliShahin1856whotookallhischefsandcookstogetherwithhimtoCalcuKa.TheNawabpeopleintroducedbiryanitoCalcuKa.Itismadewithwholeboiledpotatoesandmeat.Duringtheleanperiodandtherecessionforcedcommonmassestousefullboiledpotatoesinplaceofmeatpiecesandithasbeenadheredeversince

•  HyderabadBiryani-ItwascreatedaierAurangzebappointedNiza-ul-MulkasthenewrulerofHyderabad.Hischefsreportedlycreatedalmost50differentrecipesthatusedfish,shrimp,quail,anddeerandharemeat.

•  Taharibiryani–Namegiventothevegetarianversionofbiryaniwheremeatisreplacedwithavarietyofvegetablesandpotatoes.

Freshspicesandherbsareusedtoenhancetheflavorandtextureofthemeatinaslowcookingprocessinasealedcontainertoencouragetheherbstoreleasetheirmaximumflavor.Thecookingprocesstakesplaceoveralowflamewhereingredientsareputinasealedcontainertoallowthemeatstotenderizeintheirownjuices.