Kacchi Biryani

Biryani holds a special place in my heart. If someone asks me what would you like your last meal to be? This would be it! Biryani! My dad makes one of the best biryanis I have tasted. It would be a staple in my house for Dusshera, Eid, or any other special occasion. The prep would start a night before with the chicken being marinated in home ground spices, the onion fried to a golden brown, and dry fruits tossed in fragrant ghee! So my love affair with this dish is pretty much as old as I am. Then I started college, for which I moved to Belgaum, Karnataka. With a vast Muslim population, it is a haven for really good biryani!

We all have some rituals that we do which may make us look superstitious but they just feel right. Like a friend who does not shower or wears the same shirt every time India is playing cricket because if not it would mean horrible things for India in that game! 😀 You know exactly what I am talking about! So here is my weird, superstitious ritual! Before every exam, I have to have biryani or I feel like I will not pass the test! It may be the only comfort I find in stressful times but it is what it is! LOL.  When I came to the USA to study, I did not know much about cooking. It was my first test. I lifted my head from a heap of books and I told my husband, “I need biryani!” I am sure he thought I was crazy as he looked at me puzzled! I insisted for 30 min that he go and get biryani for me or I will fail 😛 So that poor thing did! After that, he made sure I had biryani every time I gave an exam. If I forget, he reminds me, “Hey don’t you need Biryani?” 😀 Such was my obsession, that I have an American friend, Heather who had never tasted Indian food in her life. We were study buddies. She would come to me before a test and say, “Tanavi, we need to get some of that yummy Biraani” 😀 Every time we meet, we still go out and get some Biryani!

I finally got to penning down my favorite dish! I dreaded it for a long time since it is such a tedious process! This is my mother in law’s recipe which is a quick version of biryani. This is how it is made in Hyderabad where raw marinated meat is cooked with half-cooked rice in a dum (sealed pressure environment). It is an intimidating process for people like me who are used to cooking the meat separately and then layering the biryani. But once you get a hang of it, there is no turning back!

What you will need:

How to make it:

• To make the sealant: Add water to the flour, mixing a little at a time, to make a dough. Cover and keep it aside.
• To make the Biryani Masala: Add all the spices (mentioned above under the Biryani Masala section) and the salt to a mixer. Grind into a fine powder. 
• Tip: If you do not want to go through the trouble of making the masala and have time constraints, just replace it with around 2 tablespoons of store-bought Biryani Masala. 
• Marinate the washed chicken in the above biryani masala, sliced green chilies, ginger paste, garlic paste, and yogurt. Mix everything well and set aside for at least 2 hours. 
• To make the rice: Boil around 12 cups of water (approximately 4 times the quantity of rice). Add a cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and star anise to it. Add the salt as well. Once the water comes to a boil, add the washed rice. Cook until 75% done. Drain the water, saving around 1/2 a cup of water for later. 
• Tip: To make perfectly seasoned rice, ensure that the water you are boiling it in tastes like saltwater. 
• Soak the saffron in hot milk and keep it aside for it to release its color.
• While the rice is cooking, start frying the onion. Add ghee to a thick bottom vessel and add sliced onions to it. Cook until the onions begin to turn golden brown. Turn off the flame. Try to keep as much ghee in the pan as possible after frying the onions. Remove the onions and keep aside. 
• Assembly: Add the marinated chicken to the same vessel in which you fried the onions. Add the 1/2 cup of rice water that you saved. Add half the rice. Add a layer of fried onions. Add the remaining rice along with mint leaves. Pour the saffron-infused milk. 
• Seal the top of the vessel using the dough sealant. Cover tightly.
• Now cook on a very high flame for 7 minutes. Then reduce to flame to a slow simmer and cook for another 20 minutes. 
• Turn the flame off and let the biryani sit and cook in the steam within the vessel for at least 15 more minutes. 
• Open and mix with a light hand.
• Enjoy with your family and friends.