From wwwca@NO_SPAM_earthlink.net Mon Nov 26 12:38:41 2001 Date: 24 Nov 2001 23:50:44 GMT From: Bill Wight Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes Subject: Biryani (2) Collection Followup-To: rec.food.cooking, rec.food.recipes Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net Hussein's Chicken Biryani Masala Hyderabadi Biryani Request >From: "Jeffo" >has anyone an authentic recipe for Biryani please. TIA I worked in Pakistan for 14 months. The cook, Hussein, in our construction camp made this biryani at least once a week and we all really liked it. This is his recipe. You can find most of the ingredients in a supermarket and the tamarind pulp in an Indian, Pakistani or Asian market. If you can't find the tamarind pulp, use a few dried apricots. Kashmiri saffron is by far the best, but Spanish saffron will work for this dish. * Exported from MasterCook * Hussein's Chicken Biryani Masala Recipe By : Hussein, cook at the Qadirpur Gas Plant Camp, Pakistan Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Chicken Indian Pakistani Rice Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 3 cups Basmati rice 4 chicken breasts** 1/2 large onion -- minced 2 cloves garlic -- minced 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee 8 ounces plain yogurt 1 pinch saffron threads 1/4 cup milk *** SPICE MIXTURE *** 1 teaspoon red chile powder* -- medium heat 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns 1 teaspoon ginger, powdered 1 tablespoon turmeric 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon mace 1/2 salt (or to taste) 6 cardamom seeds -- peeled 4 bay leaves -- dried, crushed 1 lump tamarind pulp, marble-sized 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon cloves * Do not use chili powder, which contains other spices. Use a pure powdered chile from cayenne or New Mexico chiles. ** skinless and boneless and cut into 3/4" pieces Put the milk into a cup and add the saffron and stir. Set aside at least 30 minutes before using. Place all spice ingredients (including salt and tamarind pulp) in spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Soak the rice in cold water for 30 minutes and then drain and rinse until clear water comes off rice. Cook rice in large pan in 8 cups of water. Cook for 10-12 minutes. In a frying pan, heat oil or ghee and saute the onion and garlic until golden. Add chicken and spice powder and stir-fry until chicken is done, about 6 minutes. Drain rice and place back in large pan. Add the saffron-milk mixture and mix rice until uniform color. Add the chicken, onion, garlic and spice mixture and the yogurt to the pan and mix gently until well-blended with all the rice. Place the rice into a glass baking dish and bake in a 350F oven for 40 minutes. Serve immediately as a main course or side dish. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - On a recent episode of Padma Lakshmi's Food TV Show, she was in Hydrabad, India and helped a famous local chef (Mahboob Alam Kahne) make his signature dish. The crew video-taped him making it in his patio of his home. Hyderabadi Biryani Recipe courtesy Mahboob Alam Kahne 2 pounds boned leg of lamb, cut into 3/4-inch cubes 1 tablespoons papaya paste (tenderizing agent) 2 tablespoons grated ginger 2 tablespoons garlic paste 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons turmeric 2 teaspoons red chile powder 1 cinnamon stick 2 cloves 10 cardamom pods with shell Refined peanut oil or sunflower oil, for frying 1 large white onion thinly sliced 5 tablespoons whole Greek yogurt 2 lemons, juiced 1/4 cup chopped mint 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 2 green chiles, finely chopped 3 tablespoons ghee or oil 3 cups Basmati rice 1 teaspoon saffron (or 10 threads fresh saffron) boiled in 1-cup milk for 5 minutes Nan, 1 piece per person Salad, as an accompaniment 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 360F. 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 350F, oven for 40 minutes. Serve with Nan bread and salad. Bill's Note: in the video, the chef made this biryani in a large tava (like a wok) that had a rimmed lid. His helper cooked the dish with it sitting over a charcoal brazier with coals heaped onto the lid. The helper made up a bread dough and used it to seal the lid to the tava to keep in most of the steam. Much easier in our modern ovens, but not as authentic. Bill Wight -- Rec.food.recipes is moderated; only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting. Please send recipes, requests, questions or comments to Moderator Patricia Hill at recipes@rt66.com Please allow several days for your submission to appear.