From: akm@atlantix.cs.uoregon.edu (Anant Kartik Mithal)
Subject: Re: REQUEST Biriyani (sp?)
Status: RO
Apparently-To: uunet!rec-food-recipes
Summary: your spelling is fine.
Organization: University of Oregon Computer and Information Sciences Dept.
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 07:19:13 GMT

(Note: this recipie is from Good Houskeeping's Indian Cookery by
Meera Taneja. ISBN 0 85223 270 EBURY Press, London. My comments
are in parentheses.)

(The other Indian word for Biryani is Pula-oo or pulav, and I'd
suspect that it is etomologically linked to the word pilaf. This
recipie is for lamb, but other meats are similar expcet for the
changes in cooking time.)

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Lucknowi Biryani: Biryani from Lucknow. 

Lucknow, the capital of Central India (now the capital of the state
of Uttar Pradesh, which is the second largest state in India by
size, and the largest by population, is bordered on the north by
the Himalayas and Nepal), has long been famous for its rich
Mughuali cooking (Mughal = Mughal emperors, who did things like
build the Taj Mahal, also in Uttar Pradesh), a tradition that the
Nawabs [lords] kept alive by employing the best chefs and promoting
cooking as a highly specialized art. This biryani is such a dish
and requires no additional accompaniments other than plain yogurt.
It is a highly spiced dish (but not hot!) in which the meat is first
boiled and then fried to golden brown, then cooked with rice perfumed
with a little rose water or kewra, and finally sprinkled with an
infussion of saffron. It is a classic dish that requires a fair
amount of preparation: it simply cannot be made in a hurry.

(If you don't have rose water or kewra, ignore them. You might be
able to get them in an Indian grocery store. Saffron will also be
available in such a store, but be warned that it is very
expensive... If you leave all of these out, you should still get a
good dish.) 

Preparation time: 30 minutes plus 30 minutes' soaking
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves 4-6

450g / 1 lb boned tender lamb [with a little fat] cut into 4 cm /
   1.5 inch pieces.  (You could use beef, and if you use lamb, I'd
   use a few small bones: the meat cooks very well around
   thebones) 
2 medium onions, skinned and roughly chopped 
5 ml / 1 level tsp salt
900 ml / 1.5 pints water 
1 large onion skinned and chopped 
1 garlic clove, skinned 
2.5 cm / 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped  
450g / 1 lb basmati rice  (using Indian basmati really makes a 
   difference. I didn't believe it till I tried something else.
   Basmati has a fantastic aroma which most other rices don't. Bas =
   scent, basmati = that which has scent/[perfume.) 
45 ml / 3 level tbsp Ghee / clarified butter / butter. (Again, ghee
   makes a difference, butter is a reasonable substitute.) 
2 medium onions, skinned; chop 1 finely, slice the other. (Why
   couldn't she put all the onions together???)
2.5 cm / 1 inch stick cinammon
1 bay leaf
1 black cardamom (use 3 green if you can't find the black)
2 green cardamom (well, use 4 green in all if you can't find the
   black) 
2.5 ms / 0.5 level tsp cumin seeds 
2 cloves 
5 ml / 1 tsp rose or kewra [see page 138] (:-) water 
pinch saffron 
15 ml / 1 Tbsp warm water water

Method:

Wash meat well under a cold tap. Place the meat, chopped medium
onions, salt and water in the heavy-based saucepan. Bring it to
the boil, and remove any scum that may form on top. Cover, reduce
heat and allow to sommer rapidly for 1 - 1.25 hours until the meat
is almost tender. Strain through a sieve, reserve the stock and the
meat and onion pulp separately. (You could do this in a pressure
cooker for 25 minutes after the first whistle.)

In a blender or food processor grind the chopped large onion,
garlic and ginger. Put the rice in a sieve and wash throughly
under a running cold tap until the water runs clear. Soak in plenty
of cold water  for 30 minutes. Heat 30 ml [2 level tbsp] ghee in a
large heavy-based saucepan, add the roughly chopped onion, and
stir fry for 3-5 minutes to a golden brown. Add the ground onion
mixture and all the whole spices. Stirring frequently fry the
mixture for 4-5 minutes to a pale golden color, then add the
strained meat and onion. Increase heat slightly and stirring
continuously, fry the mixture for 5-10 minutes to a deep golden
brown color. THe meat should brown well; if it tends to stick to
the bottom of the pan add about 30 ml [2 Tbsp] of water at a time
to prevent this. 

Drain the rice in a sieve and let it stand for a minute or two. Add
to meat and onion mixture and continue frying for another few
minutes so that the rice begins to turn a plae golden color.
Leave the rice and meat in the pan, carefully pour in the meat
stock and top it up with enough water to cover the rice by 2.5 cm
[1 inch]. Cover the pan with a close fitting lid, reduce heat and
allow to cook for about 20 minutes until both the rice and meat
are almost tender. Stand well back to avoid the steam, remove the
lid and sprinkle the rose or kewara water on top. Replace lid
quickly and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

In the meantime infuse the saffron in the warm water. Once again
remove the lid, pour in the infused saffron water and cover.
Continue cooking the rice for another 3-4 minutes until it is
tender and the water has been absorbed. Turn off the heat and let
the rice stand, covered, for a few minutes. Remove the lid and
gently fork the rice. This will also help to distribute the
saffron color.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining ghee in a small frying pan, add
finely sliced onion, and fry quickly to a crips golden brown. Serve
the Biryani hot with the crisply fried onion sprinkled on top.

Serving suggestion: serve accompanied only by plain yogurt. 

(I'm a little leary of her 1 Tbsp = 15 ml conversion.) 

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Enjoy!

kartik
-- 
If you quote my article remember to trim it down to the essentials.
Anant Kartik Mithal, 				akm@cs.uoregon.edu
Network Manager, Ph.D. Student			(503)346-3989
Comp. Science, U of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403  	(503)346-5373 (fax)

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