Who does not love biryani? When it’s Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani its even more special and one has to fall in love with it, after all it is so delicious. I have grown up eating biryani, and nothing comes close hyderabadi biryani. There are two ways to make this biryani, one is the kacche gosht ki biryani, where the meat gravy is not cooked prior and directly layered with rice and cooked on dum. The other type is where the gravy is cooked and then layered with rice. Today we are going to be making the biryani where we are going to cook the gravy first, as this is more simpler than the other. Now lets dive in!
BIRYANI MASALA
Biryani masala is the key to getting the flavours of the biryani right. So I avoid store bough biryani masala and make it at home. Making fresh masala at home is a game changer. All you need is a few spices to make it. Hyderabadis add mace( javentry), nutmeg along with coriander seeds, shah zeera( black cumin seeds), peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, bay leaves and blend it to form a smooth powder. I suggest you make it fresh every time to make the biryani more flavourful.
THE MARINATION
You can marinate it straight away in the same pot in which you will be making the biryani, to avoid doing more dishes. Otherwise in a large bowl add lamb or mutton, depending on what you desire. Add yogurt, ginger garlic paste, biryani masala, red chilli powder, green chillies, salt, turmeric, whole spices, fried onions, oil, coriander and mint leaves. The hyderabadis also add raw papaya paste, so I you have raw papaya I highly recommend adding that to the marinate. Mix everything well and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. I highly recommend overnight marination, however if you lack time, marinate for at least 2 hours.
THE GRAVY
Once the mutton/lamb is well marinated, cook on medium flame until the meat is tender. To avoid adding any water to the gravy, cook it on low to medium flame. But if you want to speed up the process and want to cook on high flame, add water as required to prevent burning at the bottom. You will need to cook for an hour on a pan for the meat to be tender. If you want to speed up you can cook it in a pressure cooker, however I do not recommend that.
THE RICE
Wash and soak extra long basmati rice for 30 minutes in cold water. In a large pot boil 4X amount of water along with salt. Addwhole spices, green chillies, lemon juice, shah zeera and few drops of oil. Once the water comes to a boiling point, add the soaked rice and cook until it is 70 to 80 percent done. You cook the rice for about 6 to 8 minutes and not more than that. Strain the rice immediately and wash it in cold water to prevent the rice from cooking fully.
LAYERING AND STEAMING THE HYDERABADI MUTTON BIRYANI
Once the gravy and half cooked rice is ready, you layer the rice on top of the gravy. Garnish it with fried onions, coriander and mint leaves, add some kesar soaked in milk and some desi ghee. Seal it with the help of a aluminium foil or a cloth kitchen towel, cover the lid and steam for a good 30 to 40 minutes on a low flame.
HOW TO SERVE HYDERABADI MUTTON BIRYANI?
Biryani on its own is super delicious. But to add more fibre to your meal I recommend serving the biryani with some cucumber raita and some salad on the side. Now all that’s left to do is to enjoy!
THE PROCESS:
MORE RECIPES :
ONE POT TANDOORI CHICKEN AND RICE
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HYDERABADI MUTTON BIRYANI
Ingredients
BIRYANI MASALA
- 2.5 tbsp Coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp Shahi Zeera
- 1/2 tbsp Peppercorns
- 1/2 Nutmeg
- 2 Mace
- 8 Green cardamom
- 2 Black cardamom
- 2 Cinnamon sticks
- 2 Star anise
- 12 Cloves
MARINATION
- 800 g Mutton Or Lamb
- 2 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 tbsp Turmeric
- 1/2 cup Oil
- 2 cups Yogurt
- 2 Slit green chillies
- 1 cup Fried onions
- 1/4 cup Chopped coriander leaves
- 1/4 cup Chopped Mint leaves
- 2 tbsp Red chilli powder
- 2.5 tbsp Biryani masala
- 4 Green cardamom
- 3 Cloves
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- Salt to taste
RICE
- 3 1/2 cups Extra long basmati rice
- 1 tbsp Shahi zeera
- 2.5 tbsp Salt
- 2 Green chillies
- 3 Cloves
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 3 Green cardamom
- 2 Black cardamom
- 2 Star anise
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 10 cups Water
OTHER INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp Desi ghee
- 1/4 cup Fried onions
- 1/4 cup Chopped coriander and Mint leaves
- Few strands Kesar
- 1/4 cup Milk
Instructions
Biryani Masala
- In a mixer jar, blend all the ingredients in the biryani masala section into a smooth powder and set that aside.
MARINATION
- In a large pot or bowl, mix all the ingredients in the marination section along with mutton and let that marinate for at least 2 hours, however I highly recommend overnight marination in the refrigerator.
GRAVY
- Once the mutton is marinated, cook it in a large pot on low to medium flame for at least an hour or until the meat is tender. You should be left with a thick gravy and tender meat.
- To avoid adding water to the gravy, I recommend cooking it on a medium flame, however if you want to speed up the process and cook on high flame, add water accordingly to prevent burning at the bottom.
RICE
- Wash extra long basmati rice at least 3 to 4 times and the soak in cold water for 30 minutes.
- In a large pot boil 10 to 12 cups of water. Add salt, shahi zeera, green chillies, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise, lemon juice and oil into the water.
- Once the water reaches the boiling point, add soaked basmati rice and cook until it is 80 percent cooked. I suggest cooking rice for exactly 6 to 8 minutes and not more than that.
- Strain the rice immediately and rinse it with cold water to prevent it from getting cooked completely.
Layering
- Crush a few strands of kesar and soak it in milk.
- Layer the half cooked rice on top of the gravy.
- Garnish with fried onions, chopped coriander and mint leaves, desi ghee and kesar soaked in milk.
- Seal the pot with aluminium foil, cover the lid and steam the biryani on a low flame for a good 30 minutes. Serve hot with raita and salad on the side.
