Gravy for Biryani

Whenever you order biryani in any of the Indian restaurants you get a side dish of GRAVY with it. I was never a big fan of this dish because it had too much oil and too much garam masala for my liking. But recently, there opened a new restaurant and I love the gravy they serve with the biryani. So I started searching for the gravy recipes and I made it. And I loved it soooooooo much along with everyone else. From now on, whenever I make biryani this is going to accompany it

                    This time around I made Mutton Biryani, gravy and Cucumber Raita. Here is the recipe

Gravy for Biryani (Tomato and Coconut based side dish)

Gravy for Biryani

Ingredients:

1. 1 tablespoon oil
2. 1 medium small onion ground to paste or sliced thin
3. 2 medium tomatoes, quartered (and if they are big, slice into halfs again)
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of chilly powder, turmeric, cumin powder, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala
6. 1 teaspoon coriander powder 
7. 1/4 cup thick coconut milk
8. coriander for garnishing

Ingredients for paste

1. 2-3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
2. 1 teaspoon khus khus (poppy seeds)
3. 1 teaspoon broken cashew 

Dry roast the ingredients for paste and let them cool. Grind it to a smooth paste . (I used coffee grinder)

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till translucent. Add all the ingredients in number 5 and 6 and fry for a minute. Add tomato quarters, reduce heat and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the ground paste and stir to combine. Add 2 cups water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the coconut milk, salt and coriander and stir to combine and simmer further for 3-4 minutes. Serve with your favorite rice dish like Mutton Biryani 

or Chicken Biryani or Ground Lamb Biryani