Mutton Biryani

Whenever I cook mutton dishes I am reminded of a friend and her family. It is always a joy going out to eat with them, go to their place or have them come over for a meal. Their love for food is infectious especially non-veg food. The husband, wife and child all enjoyed their food immensely, appreciating good food and fearless to call out something that is not cooked properly. If they enjoy a certin food they let it be known which in itself is a treat. The places we visited with them, even if it was a little hole in the wall, the commonality was they all had the best made food.

To enjoy good food you need company that enjoys food too, else it is an exercise in futility trying to satisfy all sides and the process itself turns arduous. As our luck would have it the family moved back home a few years ago. It is company like that you need when you visit a place like this one and the one and only time we visited was with them. There are not many people who can go through the process of eating three courses of non-veg, survive and have anything to do with meat for a couple of months in the least.

Just a sample of their love for food, On a trip to the local zoo, we had packed the usual tamarind rice, lemon rice and yogurt rice but when sat down to eat, out came the fried dried fish which was delicious. They were of the opinion a little something is required to elevate the meal. Her fried full fish are the most delicious and the biryanis simply the best.

I have tried to recreate her Mutton biryani and I think I have succeeded, not to recreate hers exactly, but in the process learn to make one tasty biryani. I usually precook the mutton pieces in a pressure cooker but if you have tender meat just saute them in the spices and then add the rice.

Mutton Biryani
Ingredients
1. 1 1/2 lbs mutton
2. 1 1/2 cups onions sliced + 1/2 cup chopped onions
3. 2 cups Basmati rice or Seeraga Samba Rice
4. 3 tbsp heaped ginger and garlic minced (10 garlic cloves + 2 inch piece of ginger) + 3 garlic cloves and 1 inch piece of ginger chopped roughly
5. 1 cup ( 2 tomatoes chopped)
6. 2 cups packed mint leaves
7. 1/2 cup of coriander leaves
8. 12 green chilies slit
9. 2 tbsp of yogurt
10. seasonings - cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and curry leaves
11. 1/2 tbsp pepper powder (optional)
12. 1 tbsp chili powder or meat masala powder (optional)
13. 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
14. salt to taste
15. 2 tsp of oil

Method - precooked mutton pieces and using pressure cooker
1. Take the washed mutton pieces in a pressure cooker, add turmeric powder, 1/2 cup chopped onions, the chopped ginger and garlic, 5 slit green chilies and pepper powder and enough water to cover the mutton and let it cook for 4-5 whistles, let cool and transfer.
Note: If you are using tender meat skip this step.

1.b Wash and soak the rice for half an hour, just before you start to saute the onions

2. In the pressure cooker add oil and when hot add all the seasonings and when they just start to turn color add the onions and saute till they start to turn brown
3. Add the minced ginger garlic and green chilies and saute continuously for 4-5 minutes. Take care not to let them brown or stick to the bottom
4. Add the chopped mint and coriander leaves and saute them till they are nicely wilted
5. Now using a slotted spoon transfer just the meat pieces to the onion mixture in the cooker and mix it in well. If you are adding chili powder or masala powder add it at this stage.
6.Add the chopped tomatoes and salt and let it cook for till the tomatoes are mushy and soft
7. Add the washed rice and saute for 2-3 minutes
8. Add the reserved water in the ratio required for the rice, I usually add 1 1/2 cups of water for every cup of Basmati rice, seeraga samba rice requires 2 cups of water
9. Let the water come to a boil, check for salt and heat (add more chili powder/pepper powder if required)
10. Let the rice cook for 6-8 minutes in medium heat. Mix in the yogurt
11. Place the lid and cook in a slightly lower heat for not more than 8 minutes
12. Let the pressure cooker cool and then mix the rice gently


Method 2 - Sauteing the meat, precooked rice and stove top with dum
1. Skip step 1 of the previous method (just slice all of the onions and mince all of the ginger and garlic)
2. Follow steps 2-4 as above
3. Add the mutton pieces saute till they are completely cooked
4. Meantime set a pot of salted water to boil and let the rice be half cooked. Drain the water completely
5. Add the chili powder and pepper powders
6. Add the tomatoes and saute till they are mushy and soft
7. Now add in the rice and mix it in gently
8. Remove from the heat and finish in a preheated 350F oven for 8-10 minutes

Serve with onion raita

Korean Squash with Chana Dal and a mystery bean

OK! I collect seeds particularly vegetable seeds like some people collect precious stones/jewelery. Never say no when an offer of a seed is made. End result I have hundreds of seeds and no idea what are they are. Sadly my enthusiasm for collecting does not extend to organizing them under neat labels. This year when we were preparing the garden bed I dumped most of the seeds and mixed them into the soil along with the compost. End result some seeds which still maintained their potency, germinated and now I have mystery vegetables popping up.

Thank you BangloreBaker and aqua you sent me on the right path regarding the mystery squash/gourd from the last post. They are indeed Delicata Squash and I will be doubly sure when I cut them open and taste them. The seeds I guess came from my dear friend over at Out of the Garden a couple of summers ago. I can't imagine where else they could have come from anyway.

Mystery bean

These beans pictured above, they again fall into the mystery vegetable category. I assumed them to be green bean but only broader. The tender ones cooked up pretty quickly and tasted like green beans sure.

Mature beans

Mystery bean

But after a couple of pickings I began to suspect that they were probably grown not for the pod but the seed. So left a few to grow to full size and sure enough they are beans of some kind but have no idea what kind!

Korean squash

Now to the Korean squash. We have a few international markets and Asian markets near where we live. Good thing about these markets are the availability of a variety of vegetables from all over. It is interesting shopping here compared to the predictability of supermarkets. Most vegetables are a novelty but if they have familiar sounds names like squash for example I buy them. That was the genesis of how I came in possession of the Korean squash. Saw this recipe with bottle gourd and channa dal over at Sharmila's Kichu Khon. Looked like the Korean squash would lend itself nicely to the recipe. The insides resemble bottle gourd don't you think?

I followed Sharmila's recipe mostly but added some ginger, green chilies and sambhar powder. Besides bottle gourd, ridge gourd and snake gourd will work well with the recipe too methinks.

Korean squash with Chana dal
Ingredients
1. 1 1/2 cups of chana dal soaked for an hour and cooked till soft (should not be mushy)
2. 2 Cups of chopped Korean squash
3. 1/2 onion chopped
4. 2 small tomatoes chopped (1/2 cup)
5. 4 green chilies slit
6. 1/2 inch piece of ginger grated
7. 3 garlic cloves chopped
8. 1 tbsp sambhar powder
9. 2 tsp of turmeric powder
10. seasonings: curry leaves, cumin and asfoetida
11. salt to taste + 1 tsp oil

Method
1. Pressure cook the chana dal with a pinch of turmeric and a drop of sesame oil till soft and set aside
2. In a pan heat oil add the seasonings and when they start to turn color add the onions and green chilies and saute till they are translucent, add the garlic and ginger and saute for a minute or two
3. Add the squash and saute for 3 - 5 minutes, add the sambhar powder and give a good mix
4. Add the tomatoes saute for a minute, close the lid and let it cook till the tomatoes are soft and the squash is cooked
5. Add in the cooked chana dal, salt and 1/4 cup of water and let it cook for 3-4 minutes.

Goes with rice or chapatis.