Mutton Handi Biriyani

There aint no meat, like one that's slow cooked and to heighten the flavours, something that's cooked in a good old fashioned way in the earthen pot. Over the next few days I'll try and share some delicacies , all of them cooked in the traditional "Handi". Cheers foodies!!!!

The Magic Makers
For the Mutton Curry
Ghee                                4 tbsp

Cinnamon                       2-3 pieces,1 inch each
Cloves                              4-5
Green Cardamom          4-5 crushed pods
Bay Leaf                          2
Mace                               1 flower
Starannise                      1
Black Cardamom          1, crushed
Black PepperCorns       8-10
Shahjeera                       1 tsp
Onions                           2,large, finely chopped,
Ginger-Garlic paste      2 tbsp
Green Chillies               4, finely chopped
Red Chilli powder         1 heaped tsp
Cumin Powder             1 tsp
Coriander powder        1 tbsp
Turmeric powder         1/4 tsp
Salt                                to taste
Mutton                          500 gm, preferably chops
Garam Masala              1/2 tsp
Mint leaves                   one small bunch
Coriander Leaves         one small bunch
Water

For the Rice

Cinnamon                    2-3 pieces,1 inch each
Cloves                          4-5
Green Cardamom      4-5 crushed pods
Bay Leaf                     2
Black Cardamom      1, crushed
Black PepperCorns   8-10
Basmati Rice             500 gms
Salt                             to taste


For Dum
Ghee                             2tbsp
Mint leaves                   one small bunch
Coriander Leaves         one small bunch
Green Chillies               2, Slit
Garam Masala             1/4 tsp
Juice of half a lime


The Prestige

Soak the rice in water and keep aside.

Heat Ghee in an earthen pot. Add the whole dry spices and fry for a while. Then add the onions and cook till translucent. Now add the ginger garlic paste and cook till the raw smell disappears. Then add the green chillies and fry for a minute. Now add the powdered spices and fry till well incorporated. Now add the mutton pieces and stir till the meat is well coated in the spices. Leave it covered on a low flame allowing the meat to cook in its own juices. Once all the moisture has evaporated add the garam masala, coriander and mint leaves. Mix well and add water,enough to cover the meat and leave it on sim for about 2 hours till the meat is tender.

For the rice, Tie all the dry spices into a "Potli". Cook the rice with the salt and the spice potli, till rice is almost done.

Tip from My Mom: When making Biriyani, Once the rice is done add it to the meat immediately. Do not keep it resting. So you need to time your cooking accordingly.

When the meat is cooked, remove the potli from the rice and add the rice to the meat curry and mix well.

Finally add the ingredients "for dum" and cook covered for about half an hour.

Hot and delectable Handi Biriyani is ready. So go try it out and flatter your taste buds.

Stuffed Onion Rings

I've been challenging myself into making vegetarian food for a while, and given my Mom's saatvik food habits, what can I say.......it has heightened the challenge. With this recipe here, I passed with flying colors. I had a little bit of a lot of stuff left in my fridge and there couldn't be a better use for it. Handful of paneer, some mushroom, one small capsicum,2 little potatoes. It came out really well, For people who don't like paneer or mushrooms, trust me you'll curse yourself if you aren't trying this.

The Magic Makers

Onion ,Large                               3-4

Oil                                                for shallow frying

Cumin seeds                               1 tsp

Finely Chopped Onion              2tbsp

Green Chilli, Finely Chopped   2

Mushrooms,Chopped               150g

Paneer                                       50g

Potato,Boiled & Mashed          1,medium

Capsicum,Chopped                  1,small

Salt                                            to taste

Coriander leaves,Chopped      1tbsp

Refined Flour(maida)             5 tbsp

Cornflour                                2tbsp

Bread Crumbs                        1cup

Oregano                                  2tsp

The Prestige

Cut the onions horizontally into rings and secure the outer scales for using as rings.

Heat oil in a pan. Add Cumin seeds. When they splutter, add finely chopped onions and sauté till soft. I used the insides of the onions after securing the outer scales for rings. Add green chillies and cook for a while. Now add the mushrooms and cook till moisture is gone. Now add crumbled paneer and cook for a minute. Then mix in the potatoes and capsicum and cook till capsicum is soft. Add a spoonful of maida and mix well. Add salt and coriander leaves and mix well.

Make batter with cornflour, maida, salt and water. The batter should be of one string consistency.

Mix the oregano with bread crumbs.

Stuff the onion rings with the mushroom mix and press tightly. Dip them in the batter and roll in bread crumbs and Shallow fry till golden brown. Ummmmmmmmmm........yummy, aromatic Onion Rings are ready. Goes well with fried rice.