Yogurt Marinated Lamb With Tri Masala And Basmati Rice Hyderabadi Biryani Recipes

Steps:

• Place lamb in a bowl, coat with yogurt, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
• Begin preparing rice by soaking in water for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Prepare masala 1 by grinding together in a food processor the garlic clove and ginger to a fine paste.
• Prepare masala 2 by grinding coriander seeds, fennel seeds and poppy seeds then make a fine paste by adding the red chiles through the feed tube of a food processor followed by the dry ground spices.
• Prepare masala 3 by grinding together coconut, cashew nuts and yogurt (in that order) through the feed tube of a running food processor.
• To begin cooking the lamb, heat 4 teaspoons ghee in a wok and swirl to coat inside surface. Add 3 cloves, 3 cardamom pods, and 3 cinnamon sticks, and "toast" briefly in the wok. Then, add chopped green chiles and onion and fry until mixture turns golden brown (be careful not to burn). Add masala 1 and stir well, cooking for a few minutes. Add masala 2 and stir well, cooking for a few minutes to integrate flavors.
• Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer marinated lamb to wok and also add cilantro and mint leaves. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then add 1/2 cup water and salt. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, then stir in masala 3. Cover and cook until the sauce becomes thick.
• Heat 3 teaspoons ghee in another wok or saucepan and add cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cumin seeds, and fry for 1 minute. Add the rice and stir for about 2 to 3 minutes to "toast" the rice. Add the 3 1/2 cups water and salt, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let cook until the water is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. When rice is done, remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• The biryani will be layered in a dish. A 13 by 9-inch ovenproof dish (such as the type used for lasagna) or something similar would be suitable. Divide rice into 3 parts and the lamb mixture into 2 parts. Grease the dish and arrange 5 alternate layers of rice and meat, beginning and ending with rice.
• Dissolve the saffron threads in the 1/4 cup milk and spoon it over the top layer of rice. Cover the biryani with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Let rest for a few minutes before serving.
• Transfer to a serving plate to reveal layers. Garnish with fried onions, cashew nuts, raisins and hard boiled eggs.

Steps:

• Lay the lamb pieces in the bottom of a flat copper dish or Dutch oven. Add papaya paste, ginger paste, garlic paste, salt, turmeric, chile powder, cinnamon stick, cloves, and cardamom pods. Mix the spices into the meat with your hands.
• Heat 1-inch of refined peanut oil or sunflower oil in a saute pan to 360 degrees F. Add the thinly sliced onions and fry until light golden and crisp. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Reserve the oil. Crush the fried onions onto meat and mix with hands. Add yogurt and mix again. Add lemon juice, fresh herbs, and 2 tablespoons of the oil that is leftover from the onions. Cover and refrigerate for 40 to 45 minutes, for the flavor to develop.
• While the meat is marinating, par boil the rice as if it were pasta in a 6 cups of salted boiling water. When the rice is still crunchy in the middle, remove from the heat and strain, reserving the cooking liquid. In a small bowl, mix the ghee with 2 cups of the water from the boiling rice and pour over the rice. Add the saffron and milk mixture to the rice and pour over the meat mixture. Place a lid over the dish, but do not remove it until completely cooked. Cook in a preheated 350 degree F, oven for 40 minutes. Serve with Nan bread and salad.

Steps:

• Special Equipment: Chimney starter, newspaper, vegetable oil, 4 pounds natural lump charcoal, and metal skewers
• Combine 1 tablespoon of the garam masala, 1 teaspoon of the salt, cumin, coriander, and pepper in a 1-gallon resealable bag. Seal and shake the bag to combine. Add the lamb and shake to coat. Add the yogurt to the bag, seal and squish to coat. Refrigerate the bag in a leak proof container for 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• Spritz 4 to 5 pieces of newspaper with vegetable oil and put in the bottom of a charcoal chimney starter. Fill the chimney with half of the charcoal and light the newspaper.
• When the charcoal is lightly covered with gray ash, carefully pour it onto the bottom grate of a kettle grill and spread evenly. Top with the remaining unlit charcoal, spreading evenly so as not to suffocate the lit charcoal. Set the second grate in the kettle and cover until ready to cook.
• Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a 12-inch straight sided saute pan over medium-high, until it shimmers and almost begins to smoke. Add the onion and remaining teaspoon of salt, and cook until the onion is browned around the edges, 11 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, ginger and chile. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onions have softened and browned completely, approximately 7 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of garam masala and stir several times to coat.
• Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have reduced slightly and deepened in color, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove the lamb from the yogurt mixture, leaving as much yogurt on the meat as possible. Thread the pieces of lamb, 1/4-inch apart, onto the skewers. Grill until the yogurt has slightly charred or blackened, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the lamb from the skewers. Add the lamb and coconut milk to the tomato mixture and stir to combine and heat through. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with mint or cilantro and serve over basmati rice.
• Combine all of the seeds, peppercorns, cloves, chile, and cinnamon in an 8-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, moving the pan constantly, until you smell the cumin toasting, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the mixture to a plate and spread out to cool for 5 minutes.
• Once cool, add the toasted mixture and nutmeg into a spice grinder. Process until a fine powder is formed, approximately 1 minute. Use immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Steps:

• Remove and discard the skin from the chicken legs and breasts. Cut each leg into drumstick and thigh, and quarter the breasts.
• To prepare the marinade paste, peel and coarsely chop the garlic, ginger, and 3 onions. Place in a blender with the cloves, peppercorns, cardamom seeds, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, poppy seeds, mace, 1 teaspoon salt, and the lemon juice. Blend to a smooth paste. Turn into a large bowl, add the yogurt, and mix well.
• Dry Roasting: Spices are often dry-roasted before use. It is best to do this over medium heat in a preheated small, heavy, cast-iron frying pan. No oil is used; the spices are just stirred around in the pan with a wooden spatula until they brown lightly. Roasted spices develop a heightened, nutty aroma. They can be stored for several months in an airtight jar.
• Peel the 3 remaining onions, halve lengthwise, and slice finely. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the bay leaves and cardamom pods. Fry for 10 to 15 seconds. Add the sliced onions and fry, stirring, for about 10 minutes or until brown and crisp, but not burned. Remove with a slotted spoon, squeezing out as much oil as possible. Reserve the oil, cardamoms, and bay leaves. Add 2/3 of the fried onions to the marinade paste and mix well. Drain the rest on paper towels and set aside for garnishing.
• Pierce the chicken pieces with a fork and add to the bowl of marinade paste; mix well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, turning the chicken occasionally.
• Transfer the chicken and marinade to a large heavy-based cooking pot or pan. Bring slowly to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Lift out the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and place them in a 6-quart casserole dish; cover and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Crumble the saffron into the warm milk and set aside to soak.
• Boil the marinade paste, stirring, over a medium heat, until reduced to 9 to 10 tablespoons. Spoon the paste over the chicken. Cover again.
• Pour about 3 quarts water into a large cooking pot or flameproof casserole. Add 3 teaspoons of salt and bring to a boil. Add the rice, bring back to a boil, then simmer for precisely 5 minutes. Drain the rice in a colander, then place it on top of the chicken in the casserole.
• Pour the saffron-infused milk over the rice, streaking it with orange lines. Sprinkle the reserved cardamom, bay leaves, and oil over the rice (retaining 1 tablespoon oil, for frying the raisins, if using). Cover the casserole dish with foil, cut 2 inches wider than the rim of the dish. Now put the lid on and use the protruding foil edges to seal the dish as best you can by crinkling it and pushing it against the sides. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.
• To prepare the garnishes, if including raisins fry them briefly in the reserved oil. Lightly toast the almonds if you wish. Quarter the hard-cooked eggs lengthwise, or cut into slice.
• Spoon the rice and chicken onto a large warm platter. Sprinkle with the fried onions, raisins, almonds and hard-cooked eggs. Serve hot.

Steps:

• In a large, deep skillet, add the veggies, plus a thin layer (about a centimeter or 1/3 inch) of water. Stir in the turmeric and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat down to medium and cook, uncovered, until you can pierce the vegetables with a fork but they are still slightly firm, 5 to 7 minutes.
• While the vegetables are cooking, combine the coconut, chiles and cumin seeds in a food processor, blender or mortar and pestle and blend or pound until coarsely ground.
• Once the vegetables are done cooking, turn the heat down to low and add the coconut mixture, yogurt and 1 cup water. Cover and cook until the vegetables are soft and fully cooked and the coconut mixture, yogurt and water have come together as a sauce, 12 to 15 minutes. Taste and add more salt, if necessary.
• Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan or butter warmer over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and as soon as they start to pop and dance around in the oil (1 to 2 minutes max), take the pan off the heat and add the curry leaves. They will start to pop and crack, but within seconds, they'll settle down and crisp up.
• Pour the coconut oil mixture over the avial. Serve with rice.