Beef Biryani

Delicious, tasty, appetizing, yummy, heavenly, mouthwatering, toothsome and may be divine are some of the adjectives I could think of at the spur of the moment to describe the Beef Biryani. It is made from scratch and may look grueling to make, but it isn’t. Just consider it as a good use of time on a holiday, to serve your loved ones, a dish that you’ll get many compliments for.

Serves: 8 Persons

Prep. Time: 30 Mins.

Cooking Time: 1 ½ hours

Ingredients:

• Beef (boneless) – 500 gms
• Cooked Basmati Rice – Click here
• Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp.
• Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp.
• Garam Masala Powder – ½ tsp.
• Potatoes (peeled & halved) – 4 small
• Onion (sliced) – 5 large
• Ginger-Garlic Paste – 2 tsp.
• Lime – 1 big
• Green Chillies – 2 + 2
• Mint Leaves (chopped) – ½ cup
• Green Corriander Leaves (chopped) – ½ cup
• Curds (whisked) – 125 gms
• Milk – ¼ cup
• For the Biryani Masala
  • Corriander Seeds – 1 tbsp.
  • Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp.
  • Fennel Seeds – ½ tsp.
  • Star Anise (deseeded) – 1
  • Nutmeg – ¼ piece
  • Mace – 1
  • Cloves – 4
  • Black Pepper Corns – 10
  • Green Cardamom – 2
  • Cinnamon (broken) – 1 inch
• Black Cardamom – 1
• Green Cardamom – 2
• Bay Leaves – 2
• Orange Food Colour – 2 pinches (optional)
• Ghee (melted) – ⅓ cup
• Oil – as needed
• Salt – 1 tsp.

Step 1:     Fry the onion slices in sufficient oil till deep brown. Then divide into two parts. Keep one part for the garnish and crush the other part and keep aside (birista = fried onions – click here for how to)

Step 2:     Deep fry the potatoes till light golden and keep aside.

Step 3:     Wash and drain the beef. Cut into 2 inch by 1 inch cubes and keep aside.

Step 4:     Dry roast the spices for the biryani masala lightly in the order as shown in the pictures below. Then cool them and grind to a fine powder.

Step 5:     Dissolve the food colour in ¼ cup milk and keep aside.

Step 6:     Prepare your rice (click here for how to).

Step 7:     Heat 100 ml oil in a pressure cooker (You can avoid the pressure cooker if using a good cut of meat). Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté on medium heat for a minute. Add the red chilly powder and sauté for another 30 seconds.

Step 8:     Add the beef cubes and salt and sauté for 10 minutes on high heat till the beef changes colour and juices are released.

Step 9:     Next add 1 cup hot water to the beef and put on the lid of the pressure cooker and cook on high heat till the 1^st whistle. Then lower the heat and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes. Then open the pressure cooker and check if the beef is cooked (if not, you may have to pressure cook some more).

Step 10:     Chuck in the biryani masala powder, 2 of the green cardamom, the black cardamom, the bay leaves, turmeric powder and the curds and cook for 5 minutes on high heat.

Step 11:     Add ¼ cup each of corriander and mint leaves and 2 of the slit green chillies. Mix and cook for 5 minutes on low heat.

Step 12:     Next add ½ of the crushed birista, the garam masala powder and the juice of 1 lime and cook further for another 10 minutes on low heat.

Step 13:     The gravy will have thickened by now. Add the remaining green chillies and the fried potatoes. Mix, cover and switch off the heat.

Step 14:     When you rice is ready, take a heavy bottomed vessel and add half of the rice to it and spread it out. Sprinkle ½ of the food coloured milk. Then put the meat and gravy into the vessel and spread evenly.

Step 15:     Sprinkle the remaining corriander and mint over the meat gravy and then cover with the remaining rice. Sprinkle the remaining food colour milk and the melted ghee all over. Then top with the birista.

Step 16:     Seal the top of the vessel with foil and cover with the lid. Place a tawa (griddle) on heat and place the vessel with the layered rice and meat onto the tawa. Cook on low heat for 25 to 30 minutes for the dum (to let all the spices and flavours intermingle).

Serve hot with raita (click here)