Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani with Mirchi ka Sallan

I am not from Hyderabad and I hated the biryani they used to serve during wedding before moving to Hyderabad. And Hyderabadis are very good at making thier Biryani and yes even now I am not a very big fan of biryani but now that I make it at home I can control the spices the way I like it. Cause I am not a very big fan of Garam Masala Spices and anybody who has read a few recipes on my blog would know that

                     Anyway, any Muslim marriage you go to in Hyderabad will have three items for sure on thier menu. 1)Mutton Biryani 2) Mirchi Ka Salla 3) Qhubani Ka meetha. So here you are...Hyderabadi feast for your household

Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani (Rice baked with spicy lamb curry)

Serrano chilly

Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani

Ingredients (1) :

1. 2 lb lamb bone-in cut into big chunks
2. 1 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder(more if you like it spicy), turmeric, cumin powder, garam masala powder
3. 2 teaspoons coriander powder
4. 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Ingredients for curry :

1. 1 medium red onion
2. 2 tablespoons oil
3. 1 heaped teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

Ingredients for fried onion :

1. 1 big red onion sliced thin
2. Oil for deep frying or 2-3 tablespoons oil for shallow frying

Ingredients for Biryani:

1. 3 cups Basmati rice cooked till half done and drained
2. 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
3. 4-5 green chillies slit
4. 1/2 cup finely chopped mint
5. 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
6. 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger (optional)

Marinate the lamb pieces with the ingredients in (1) and set aside atleast for 2 hours. In a pressure cooker heat the oil in the ingredients for curry and fry the onions till they become golden brown. add the ginger garlic paste and fry for 3 minutes. Add the marinated mutton and fry for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and cook for 2-3 whistles. After the steam escapes open the cooker and simmer if the gravy is too thin

Cook the rice till half done. Drain and set aside

Fry the onions and set aside

Ready all the ingredients for biryani

In a oven proff dish layer the rice top it with curry, toped with cilantro and mint and topped with fried onions and lemon juice. Repeat the layers. (There should be atleast 2 layers of all the ingredients)

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Enjoy your hyderabadi biryani with Mirchi ka Sallan and Dahi Raita

Mirchi Ka Sallan (Green chillies in a tangy sauce)

Mirchi ka Sallan

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 lb serrano chilly
2. 1/4 cup oil
3. 1/2 cup toasted sesame seed ground to powder
4. 2 cup thick juice from a medium sized lemon sized tamarind
5. 1 teaspoon salt, brown sugar or jaggery
6. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, roasted methi (optional)

Wash the chillies and pat them dry. Make a straight slit on one side and if possible remove the seeds so as to reduce the heat.

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the chillies and be very carefull as they like to spit hot oil. Fry till they change color. Drain most of the oil.

Add the tamarind juice and salt , turmeric and sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for 10-15 minutes until the chillies get cooked. Add the ground sesame and methi and continue cooking uncovered for 5-8 minutes. Enjoy hyderabadi mirchi ka sallan

Chicken Biryani

Hyderabadi Biryani is one of the most popular dishes of India. I tried Bombay Biryani and doesn't come anywhere close to the taste of hyderabadi Biryani. Take it from a person who doesn't like any Biryani in the first place
        Biryani is a tasty concoction of half cooked rice mixed with half cooked meat. And when you comebine them and cook them to completion combined then the magic happens and you get the best of both worlds. None-the-less I am not a fan of any rice dish which has meat mixed in it. But the Biryani recipe I am presenting here is a very tasty one and I do eat it, even though the whole world likes it and I don't
            Other than the rice and meat in the biryani, the next most important ingredient here are the fried onions. So, don't be lazy, fry those onions first
Fried Onions

Fried Onions

Ingredients:

1. 1 big red onion sliced thin
2. Oil for deep frying for 2-3 tablespoons oil

People usually deep fry the onions till they turn dark brown and drain them but I just shallow fry them in 2-3 tablespoons of oil, so as to limit the amount of oil these onions absorb. The results are the same either ways. Fry the onions and set aside
Chicken Curry for Biryani

Biryani layers

Ingredients:

1. 1 whole chicken cut into 10-12 pieces
2. 1 medium onion sliced thin
3. 3-4 green chillies sliced
4. 3 tablespoons oil
5. 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
6. 2 tablespoons yogurt (optional)
7. 1 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, coriander, cumin powder
8. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
9. Few cloves, 2 inches cinnamon, 1 elaichi (pounded a few times)

Wash and pat dry the chicken and marinate with all the powders for 20-30 minutes. Add yogurt if using and marinate for atleast 1 more hour. In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till they start turning brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and green chillies and fry for a couple of minutes. Add chicken pieces and fry without moving them for 3-4 minutes . Add 1/4 cup of water and cover the cooker and cook for 2 whistles. Set aside

Biryani

Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups of rice cooked till half done
2. 1/3 cup each of chopped cilantro, mint, fresh sqeezed lemon juice
3. 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh ginger (optional)
4. 4-6 hard boiled eggs (optional)

In a baking tray 9x12 or larger, layer the half cooked rice, topped with mint and cilantro and half of chicken curry topped with fried onions and ginger pieces. Drizzle half of lemon juice. Repeat all the layers again. Cover and bake for 45-60 minutes at 300 degrees. Enjoy biryani with Dahi Raita and Vinegar Onions

Dahi Raita, Kachumbar

Kachumbar

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup plain yogurt beaten
2. 1 tablespoon frsh squeezed lemon juice
3. 2 tablespoons each of finely chopped onions, cucumber, tomato, cilantro
4. 1 green chilly finely chopped
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 1/4 cup water

Mix all the ingredients and your Kachambar is ready

Vinegar Onions

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 cup finely chopped red onions
2. 1/3 cup white vinegar
3. 1 green chilly finely chopped
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy