BIRYANI




Comfort food

Answers.com gives the meaning of comfort food as “Food that is simply prepared and associated with a sense of home or contentment.”

Often there is an emotional link with food-it maybe a happy and joyous occasion. When you’re in a mood for celebration. Or it may be that you’re down in the dumps and need pepping up. Maybe you’re beating stress.Examinations.Life worries. Or maybe the flavor of a certain food links you to wonderful childhood memories of Mom. And you get a psychological comfort eating the food that she once made for you. Trips down memory lane.
My most comforting food…Biryani.Succulent pieces of tender mutton, subtly spiced, cooked, and layered between long grained ,fragrant rice. Served with lime pickle, a mint “raita” and pappadoms.Often cooked at home for kids , their friends and for “celebrity” guests!It's impact on increasing waistlines?Well...we don't eat biryani everyday!
I do not know the history or the origin of the biryani.All I know is that each region has it’s own unique way of cooking it-and my favorites have been the Hyderabadi biryani and the famed Irani biryani .I can still almost get the aroma of the biryani we used to have at a small Irani joint in Pune.That, downed with milky Irani Chai at the end.Unforgettably delectable!Another favorite-the biryani at Calicut (Kerala), made with small grain rice.Slow cooked over coconut wood fires.Washed down with Sulemani Chai at the end-the chai ,black, milkless and spiced with cardamom.But the best biryani?Moms, of course.

Biryani
2 cups long grained rice
1 kg mutton on the bone, (cut in small pieces)
4 tablespoons ginger (grated)
4 tablespoons crushed garlic
3 onions sliced
1 cup chopped cilantro and mint leaves
4 green chillies, slit lengthwise and de-seeded
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp fennel powder
A few strands saffron mixed with a little warm milk
1 tbsp raisins
21/2 level tsp salt
4-5 cups water
8 tbsp oil
1 onion sliced and deep fried till caramelized (keep aside)
Slivered almonds and fried cashew nuts for garnish
Edible silver foil for garnish


Coarsely grind together: 8 peppercorns, 1 tsp cumin, 6 green cardamoms, 3 big cardamoms,1” piece of cinnamon

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan.Add garlic, ginger and onion, stir till brown. Add ingredients from cilantro to fennel powder.Add half of the ground spices. Sauté and add mutton. Cook for a few minutes. Put in ½ the caramelized onions and water to just cover the mutton.Cook well* till mutton is tender.
Boil rice in water to which remaining ground spices and 2 level teaspoons of salt have been added.Boil till it is ¾ cooked.Strain in colander.
Pour a teaspoon of oil in a heavy bottomed pan.Spread a layer of rice over it. Cover this with a layer of cooked mutton, and a little caramelized onion. Repeat the process till the last layer is rice.Pour the saffron mixture over it.Cover the pan with foil-making the container airtight.Place a lid over it.Cook on a very low heat for 20 minutes.Remove from heat. Carefully remove foil.Spoon out the biryani on to a flat rice dish. Garnish with slivered nuts and silver foil edible paper-called “vark.”


*I usually add a tenderizer to the mutton before cooking, and use a pressure cooker for quick results.Mutton can be replaced by cubed chicken pieces-it’s a personal preference. I’ve used oil, instead of the traditional “ghee”.


Raita is a usual accompaniment to biryani.The coolness of the yogurt counters the spices!Raita is just a mixture of yogurt with chopped vegetables and/or fruit.

Mint,Tomato and Onion Raita
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh mint leaves
½ a tomato finely chopped
½ an onion finely chopped
2 cups yogurt
Salt and cumin powder.

Whisk the yogurt.Add the chopped vegetables and mint leaves. Season with salt.Add cumin powder (optional). Serve chilled.

Alternatives:
Demembraned orange segments and finely chopped mint leaves
Grated cucumber
Boiled, chopped spinach leaves
Boiled, cubed potato