Kacchi Biryani (Kacchi Biryani)

Serves five to six people.

Ingredients:

• Mutton (large pieces) - 2 kg
• Polao rice - 1 kg
• Ghee - 1½ cup
• Potatoes (same sized) - 500 gm (or 6 to 7)
• Chopped onions - 2 cups
• Ginger paste - 2 tablespoons
• Garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
• Cumin powder - 1 tablespoon
• Chili powder - 1 tablespoon
• Plain yogurt - 1½ cup
• Jaiphal (nutmeg) powder - 1 teaspoon
• Jaitri (mace) powder - ½ teaspoon
• Cinnamon powder - ½ teaspoon
• Crushed cloves - 1 teaspoon
• Green cardamom (choto elachi) powder - 1 teaspoon
• Whole black pepper - 10 to 12
• Dried prunes (alu bukhara) - 8 to 10
• Almonds - 8 to 10
• Raisins - 10 to 12
• Kewra - 4 to 5 tablespoons
• Salt - as needed
• Ground turmeric - just a little to add color

Preparation:

• Clean and rinse the mutton.
• Marinate with 1 tablespoon of salt for half an hour.
• Clean the mutton again and completely rinse out all the water.
• Set aside.

• Fry the onions in a little bit of ghee until they are crisp.
• Crush the onions lightly into smaller pieces (to make beresta) and set aside.
• Sprinkle a bit of the turmeric on the potatoes and fry them in the same ghee.
• Keep these aside.

• Now marinate the mutton with 1 tablespoon of salt, fried onions, ginger, garlic, cumin, chili powder, yogurt, jaiphal, jaitri, cinnamon powder, cardamom powder, cloves and kewra.
• Pour the marinated mutton along with the mix evenly into a large sauce pan.
• Set aside for now.

• In a separate pan, start boiling 6 cups of water with 1 tablespoon of salt.
• Add the rice into the water.
• As soon as the rice starts to get cooked, turn off the heat and use a strainer to separate out the water in a different pot. Keep this rice water aside for later use.

• Add 1 cup of rice water and ½ cup of ghee into the sauce pan containing the mutton.
• Cover the pan and let it rest for half an hour. Do not turn on the heat yet.

• Now layer the fried potatoes, prunes, almonds and raisins on top of the mutton.
• Cover the mutton with rice, and add the remaining rice water and ghee.
• Make sure the water level just touches the top of the rice.
• Seal the cover shut by wrapping an aluminum foil all around and placing a heavy weight on top. Make sure the cover is air tight and the vapor does not get to escape.
• Alternatively, the cover can also be sealed using wet flour dough.

• Finally turn on the stove and start cooking over medium heat.
• After 15 minutes, lower the heat and cook for about an hour.
• Optionally, if a gas oven is used, set the temperature to 180 C / 350 F and cook for 2.5 to 3 hours. The rest of the steps are similar for both methods.

• Remove the cover once the very distinct biryani aroma starts to come out.
• If the rice still has some more cooking left, stir in a little bit of warm milk and cover over low heat for another 10 to 15 minutes.
• Keep over low heat until both the rice and meat appear soft and cooked.
• Mix the rice and mutton gently before serving hot.