Mutton Biryani

Ingredients:

1. 500 g mutton, pieces
2. 600 g basmati rice, washed, drained and soaked for one hour before cooking
3. 200 g potatoes
4. 300 g onions, thinly sliced and fried crisp
5. 200 g tomatoes, peeled and chopped
6. 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic paste
7. 1 1/2 tablespoons ginger paste
8. 1/2 cup fresh yogurt
9. salt
10. 1/4 cup oil
11. or 1/4 cup ghee
12. 3 -4 pieces cinnamon
13. 3 -4 cloves
14. 8 -10 black peppercorns
15. 2 green cardamoms
16. 2 bay leaves
17. 2 green chilies,slit
18. slit 1 tablespoon cumin powder
    
19. 1 tablespoon red chili powder
20. 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
21. 3 -5 saffron strands, dissolved in a little warm milk
22. 3-5 leaves fresh mint
23. 3 -5 leaves fresh coriander

Method:

•  First of all, cut potatoes into quarters.
•  Apply salt to them.
•  Deep fry.
•  Pour oil/ghee in a skillet.
•  Fry the onions until pink in colour and crisp, remove them and keep aside before adding the cinnamon, cloves and the pastes.
•  Add cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves and green cardamoms.
•  Add ginger-garlic pastes.
•  Fry for 3 minutes.
•  Add in the washed mutton pieces.
•  Saute until the mutton gives out its own juices.
•  Add the slit green chillies.
•  Add turmeric, chilli and cumin powders.
•  Mix well. 14 Saute for 5 minutes, stirring continuously.
•  Mix in fresh yogurt.
•  Simmer until the mutton is cooked.
•  Add salt.
•  Continue to cook until the oil separates from the meat.
•  Add finely chopped corriander and mint leaves.
•  In a separate pot, parboil rice until the grains are half cooked.
•  Strain the rice.
•  Spread out the mutton mixture in a heavy bottom pan.
•  Sprinkle the rice on top.
•  Add fried potatoes.
•  Sprinkle saffron milk over this.
•  Sprinkle crisp fried onions on top.
•  Cover the platter with a tight fitting lid.
•  Cook on low flame for 20 minutes.
•  Serve with plain chilled yogurt or raita (I’d love to have cucumber raita as it’s my favourite) and pappadams.