Biryani
- 2 1/2 lbs. Mutton
- 2 1/2 lbs. Basmati rice
- 1/2 lb.Yogurt
- Salt to taste
- 1 medium onion
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 1 Tbsp ginger paste
- 8 small illaichi (Green Cardamom)
- 1 Tbsp garlic paste
- 10 cloves
- *Ghee Clarified Butter (see below)
- **Kewra few drops (see below)
- 2 pinches Yellow food color
- 1 pinch Sugar
Add mutton, salt and garlic cloves in a pot with two glasses of water. Cook on a low flame till the meat is tender and the water dries up. Take one medium onion. Slice it and fry it in about 4-5 tablespoons of Ghee till its light brown. Add the rest of the spices, yogurt and fry it a little. Simultaneously soak the rice in water for half an hour. Boil the rice till they're half cooked, drain the water and keep put aside. Add the cooked meat to the sauteed onions to make the masala and cook uncovered for a few minutes to evaporate excess water. When most of the water has evaporated, transfer a little rice to a pot, and on top of that add some of the meat/masala combo in layers, put half the rice in, add all the meat/masala then top that off with the rest of the rice. Sprinkle on it a solution of kewra, yellow food color and pinch of sugar. Keep it covered and on a low flame. Keep the pot tightly closed – you're trying to steam cook the rice. When the rice is done, the biryani is ready. Serve with salad or garlic chutney.
Bring the butter to boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered until done. There are a couple of ways to determine when it is done. One way is after the butter turns a clear golden color, dip a strip of paper into the butter, then move away from the butter and all other flammables and light the strip of paper on fire, if the paper sputters, crackles and pops, then the water has not been completely cooked-out and the ghee is not yet done. After using this method a time or two you can easily tell by the smell and color when the ghee has been properly cooked. When the butter first starts to boil there will be a lot of bubbling and gurgling, then this action will subside, next the ghee will begin to develop a foam at the top, at this point the ghee is done. Once you make Ghee a time or two it becomes easy to tell when it is done.