Mutton Biryani.
MUTTON : In India, mutton is Goat meat, Lamb is rarely eaten as it has a strong taste, which most people here do not like. The meat is tough so all our recipes tend to have a long cooking time. When cooked on low heat for extended time, goat turns out to be more tender than lamb.
BIRYANI : Biryani is a dish where Meat and Rice are cooked together. There are two main cooking methods
- Lucknow style where the meat is cooked with spices. Then the broth is used to cook the rice. Both the meat and the rice are cooked to around 50%. Then the rice and meat are layered in a big pot, with fried onions added to each layer. The pot is then sealed to make it airtight and cooked over moderate heat. This method gives you control of each step, and you can "repair" any mistake at each step.
- Hyderabad style also called "Kacchi" or raw meat Biryani. Here only rice is cooked to 50% with select spices. The raw meat is spread in a large pot. Ideally it should be 1 1/2 layers of meat, not more. So more meat you have the wider the vessel. Meat is marinated in select spices and mixed with fried onions and the oil it was fried in. The rice is layered with fried onions and herbs on top of each layer. In this method you have to be precise in both the spice quantities and cooking time of both rice and the whole thing. Any deviation and you get either burnt meat or over boiled rice. The major plus point in this style is the preparation time and hassle free cooking. This method also gears up seamlessly with quantity. The preparation time is more or less one hour for various quantities - 1/2 kg to 5kg of meat and the cooking time same.
In both the styles you can add saffron mixed with a bit of boiled rice on top of the last layer. You can also add Kewra Water (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kewra) to add to the fragrance.
I use the Hyderabad method and over the last few years have kept a detailed log and images of each step. Followed diligently, this is a nobrainer and normally idiot proof method. As various rice have different cooking (and more importantly turning mushy) time, use the same rice you are used to. OK, now for the Images
1. Marinade for the Mutton. This lot has around 3 kg of Mutton. I made marinade in two batches once in the beginning and once after a day as I increased the quantity.
Herbs - Chillies, Basil, Holy Basil (these two are there just because they grow in my garden, otherwise you can use mint), garlic, ginger, Fenugreek leaves
Spices (clockwise) Red Chilly powder, Pepper, Cloves, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Salt in the middle. The quantity of salt has to be determined after the meat is immersed in marinade. The marinade should taste slightly over salted.
Additional herbs. These are there as I increased the quantities otherwise I add them at the same time.
Added pepper to enhance the taste
All spices and herbs ground and mixed
Yogurt
Mutton
Everything mixed and "bagged'. A bag is ideal as you can squeeze air out, so that you have to use less quantity of marinade.
Added more mutton and a few spices