Dum Mutton Biryani

Photo: Tanvi

Ingredients

1 pound mutton[boneless and cut into 1" cubes]

1 1/4 cups basmati rice

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1/4 tablespoon tsp saffron[kesar] soaked in 2 milk [optional]

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoons red chilli powder [optional]

1 teaspoon dry coriander powder

4 tablespoons oil [I used mustard, canola or sunflower can be used]

Salt

3 cups water

Dry Spices

8 wholes dry red chillies[adjust to taste]

1 ″ stick of cinnamon

8 cloves

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

10 wholes black peppers

2 pods green cardamom

2 blades mace [javitri]

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, grated

Garnish:

Fresh Cilantro leaves

Fried onions [optional]

Almonds/Rasinis [optional]

Utensils required:

Pressure cooker

Tava/ cast iron girdle

Wide mouth, heavy bottom pan with lid [it should fit on your tava/girdle]

Preparation

N a pressure cooker,on medium high heat add mutton ,dry spices and 1 tsp salt to 2 cups water.Close the lid and let it pressure cook until the meat is 80%% cooked.This can be tested by opening the lid and squeezing the mutton pieces with fingers, it should be just tender & and not falling apart or soft.

Once cooked, reserve the stock from pressure cooker into a bowl, separate the mutton from spices and set aside the mutton pieces to cool.Throw away the collected spices.

Meanwhile,wash the rice thoroughly and set aside.

In a pan , heat the oil till ripples are formed on the surface.Stir-fry the cooled mutton pieces in this oil for about 1-2 minutes.Take the mutton out and in the same oil on medium heat ,add the onions and stir fry them untill golden brown.Once the onions are done, add the cumin seeds, red chilli powder[if using] , dry coriander powder and saute for about 2 minutes.

Next, add the washed rice to the pan and saute for about 3 minutes.This gives the rice a nutty flavor.

After the rice is sauted, switch off the heat and add the mutton pieces, salt and about 2.5 cups of reserved stock to the pan.Let the rice soak for about 20 minutes.

To the soaked rice, add the saffron -milk ,cover with lid and let the rice cook on low- medium heat.The amount of rice I used took around 15 minutes to cook at low heat.You can adjust stock/water as per your rice variety.

While the rice is cooking,let the tava/girdle heat up on high heat.Switch off the heat once the rice is done and transfer the pan to the top of heated tava.Seal the edges of the pan and lid with kneaded dough on all sides so that no steam can escape .This process is called dum cooking wherein the dish is slowly cooked on very low heat, mostly in sealed containers, allowing the meats to cook, as much as possible, in their own juices andso thatthe aromas of spices are absorbed within the dish. You can read more about it here and here.

After cooking on dum for about 8-10 minutes remove the pan from tava and let it rest for about 10 minutes.

Thereafter, break the dough seal , transfer to a serving vessel and garnish with cilantro leaves ,fried onions & nuts [if using] .

Serve with raita and salad.

Notes:

Seasoning the water in which the rice will cook is very important else the biryani will be tasteless.

Be patient while the biryani cooks.Avoid opening the lid again and again and stirring while the rice cooks.

After dum cooking, it is mandatory to let the biryani rest for some time.Do not skip this step.

Enjoy!