Servings : Serves 4-5
A meat biryani dish that is a speciality of Hyderabad. The meat is marinated and then layered with half-cooked rice in a tight pot and then cooked together, which makes this a little bit adventurous but an incredibly easy and delicious recipe nonetheless.
Ingredients for Meat Marination
- 1 kg lamb/mutton pieces, on the bone - marinate for an hour with 1 tsp meat tenderiser plus 1 tsp. each ginger & garlic pastes
- 1-2 green chillies, chopped
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- small handful of chopped coriander
- small handful of chopped mint
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 5 onions – sliced and fried (use half in marinating and half later during layering)
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- whole spices mace, bay leaf, black cardamom, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick
- juice of half of a lemon
- 2 1/2 cups yoghurt
- 1/2 cup oil
Ingredients for Rice
- 3 cups basmati rice, washed 2-3 times then soaked for half an hour
- salt
- saffron & food colouring - soak the saffron in about 1 tbsp of warm milk or water
- oil
- whole spices
Instructions
Marinate the meat in all the marination ingredients overnight (remembering to reserve half of the fried onions for layering later). You can also reserve some chopped herbs (coriander and mint), some chopped chillies and lemon juice to be used during layering)
When ready to cook, remove the marinated meat from the fridge at least an hour before you begin to allow it to come to room temperature. In the meantime, prepare the rice.
Boil water with salt and oil and the whole spices, then add the soaked rice. When the rice is about 40% cooked (roughly 4 minutes), remove half of it, drain and set aside…then continue boiling the remaining rice until it is about halfway or 50% cooked (roughly a minute or 2 more). Drain and set aside.
In a thick bottomed vessel pour a bit of ghee or oil which will help prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan and then spread the marinated meat. On top of this spread the 40% cooked rice followed by some of the remaining crushed fried onions, coriander leaves, mint leaves and lemon juice.
Spread the 50% done rice over this, then drizzle the soaked saffron and food colouring, plus a bit of ghee or oil. Seal the vessel with a damp cloth and a tight lid to keep the steam intact. First, cook on high flame for 10-15 minutes. Transfer the vessel to a hot tava (flat roti pan) to prevent the biryani from burning and continue cooking on medium heat until you notice steam trying to escape from the sides. At this point, lower the heat to minimum and cook for another 45 minutes.
When ready to serve, open the pan and gently fluff up the rice, mixing the meat with the rice. Serve with raita and green chutney. Enjoy! 🙂
Ilike it very much yummy ………
ur recipe says- In a thick bottomed vessel pour a bit of ghee and spread the marinated meat.
so that means i should not cook the mutton yet ?
Yes, do not cook the mutton before-hand. It will cook under the rice.
what is meat tenderizer?
A powder that helps tenderise meat.
also if we increase the mutton quantity shd we increase the cooking time too??
It would take about the same time to cook. Just make sure the layer of meat at the bottom is even, not piled up in a thick layer.
salam this receipe fir the biryani for how many people does it serve?
W/salaam, serves 5-6 people.
Salams, I would like recipe of lamb daar palaw plz
Aslkm…how many grams of rice is 3mugs plzzzzz
W/Salaam. Please refer to this note for my measurement conversions: My Measurements
can we use vinegar as meat tenderizer?
Yes you can although it is not as powerful as the actual tenderiser or ginger.
Salam,what is mace?
It is the outer part of Nutmeg.
Sister salam ! I tried tis reçipe. The rice got over cookd n the flavor didnt cum up the rice. Both tastd out n separate
W/Salaam, sounds like you boiled the rice too long (over-cooked it) before adding it to the chicken. Normally this is the BEST biryani recipe for me, do give it a second try and cook the rice slightly less next time, it needs to be about halfway cooked before layering.
What amount of milk is used to dip in suffron
About 2 tbsp.
where we can get this meat tendirizer
Supermarkets.
how do we know if the rice is 50% done?
I guess that goes with practice, approximately boiling rice for 5-6 minutes will get it to half-way done.
please can you tell exactly the amount of ingredients for the whole garam masala in the marinade ?
your website is the best keep it up and all the best
Thank you! I would go with:
quarter tsp mace
1 bay leaf
1 black cardamom
1 green cardamom
4 cloves
aslm
can you please tell whether to cook on high or low flaem when i transfer the pot on the tawa
W/Salaam, medium flame until steam begins to escape then lower to the lowest point and allow to cook for 45 minutes.
salaams,
Is it possible to cook the biryani in the oven instead of on a tava on the stovetop? If so, on what temperature, and for how long? Thanks so much – I love your site!
W/Salaam, sorry have personally never tried it.
Assalam Dear,
Assalam Dear,
Pls help me with the measurement for serving 15 people, ie. that onion, youghurt and the important spices. I want to make it this saturday.
The picture of your biriyani is tempting me to try it !!!!!!
W/Salaam, the recipe serves 6
W/Salaam, the recipe serves 6-7 people, if you double it it will easily serve 14-15 people. Everything else in the recipe will need to be doubled too. 🙂
Is your mug measurement the
Is your mug measurement the same as your cup measurement? Your “my measurements” page doesnt hav mug measurement like this recipe calls for..
My cup measurement for rice
My cup measurement for rice is 175gm. The mug is slightly bigger, 200gm. But not much of a difference. 🙂
Salaams, what do you mean by
Salaams, what do you mean by seal the vessel with a damp cloth?
W/Salaam, cover the pan with
W/Salaam, cover the pan with a damp cloth or towels then cover with the lid so the pan/vessel is tightly sealed.
Hi Fauzia, can i use papaya
Hi Fauzia, can i use papaya powder as meat tenderizer…..
Yes you can. 🙂
Yes you can. 🙂