Arcot Biryani(Mughalai style)

Arcot or North Arcot district belt of Tamil Nadu is known for its Biriyani. Well…Nawabs, small time Mughal ruler, governed this part. The outside Muslim influence and the local blend has improved this recipe. Strong south Indian chilies are the highlight here. Locally grown ‘long duration paddy’…the short grain rice called ‘seeraga samba’ makes it outstanding!! One more speciality of this area served biriyani is, its always served with ‘Kathirikai Serwa’ (Eggplant Serwa/ Brinjal Serwa)! It may sound strange and weird…but people who have actually tasted it…will never yeild to any other side dish!!Here I actually attempted to give a short cut method for Biriyani. It is well known that, it is cooked with wide range of choices and methods.

Ingredients:

Cinnamon sticks 2-4
Cloves 5
Cardamom pods 5
Bay leaves 3
Biryani flower 2
Marathi mokku 3
Ghee 2 cup (clarified butter)
Green chillies 6-8 slitted
One big onion finely chopped
3-4 ripe tomato finely chopped
Mint leaves 1 cup
Lemon juice 2-4 spoon
Ginger-garlic paste 4-6 spoon
Coriander/cilandro leaves 4-6 twigs
Curd half cup
Rice 3 cups (Short grained rice – ‘seeraga samba’)
Chicken/turkey/mutton/beef/lamb 3 cup
Salt to taste
Red chili powder
Food color (optional).

Preparation:

Rub ginger-garlic paste with meat and add salt +lemon juice + curd and set it aside/in fridge.

Pour generously ghee in the pressure cooker and bring it to smoky hot…now add the spices one by one…cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, maratti mokku and birinji flower.

Then add green chillies, let them splutter well. Then add onions…..fry them real good until it turns to golden color.

Now followed by reserve ginger-garlic paste, fry them till it looses its raw odour. Then followed by cilandro/coriander leaves, mint leaves plus chopped tomatoes. Fryt hem till it looses its water content and oil shows up on top and sides.

Now start adding meat and fry them until the protein denatures(meat becomes pale and opaque) Reserve the marination liquid.

Start adding food color(optional)and add red chili power. Semi cook them without adding any water….(matbe can use marinade liquid now)until the raw smell of chili powder goes.

(in case of mutton,lamb,beef…cook them with plenty of water and when once they are cooked properly measure the same water according to the rice…2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice…so ensure of correct measure).

Now add water and bring it to boil followed by rice. Add enough salt again(salt for rice)Pressure cook them in Sim low-medium heat till one whistle (if you’re in a hurry).or simply cook until rice is cooked 3/4.

Put them in dum for 20 minutes.

Can be served with onion raita, cucumber raita or brinjal serva/eggplant serva.

The same directions can be used for vegetables, mushroom and paneer biriyani.