Zaiqa

I had prepared Kachchey Gosht ki Biryani on the second day of Eid-ul-Adha for our dinner. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the meal to the last morsel الحمد لله.

Basically, there are two kinds of Biryani: Pakki Biryani, and Kachchi Biryani.

Pakki Biryani: where are half Basmati cooked rice is layered along with completely cooked chicken or lamb meat and then cooked till done on slow heat on dum.
1. Pakki Gosht ki Biryani
2. Pakki Murgh Biryani

Kachchi Biryani – which is the true Hyderabadi Biryani – where are half cooked Basmati rice is layered along with raw marinated meat and then finished on slow heat till done on dum.
1. Kachchey Gosht ki Biryani (which I am writing about today)
2. Kachche Aqni ki Dum Murgh Biryani

Raw tender and lean meat in this extraordinary kind of Biryani is allowed to first marinate in a mixture of raw papaya paste+yogurt+lemon juice+ginger+garlic, etc., all of which are natural meat tenderizers, along with several other aromatic spices for 3-4 hours. The marinating meat with all infused flavors is then layered with less than half cooked rice and allowed to slow cook, essentially in a deg, an Indian utensil with sloping sides and a narrow neck. The video here and here demonstrates the method and will be useful for beginners. Go through the videos once to have a good idea on the procedure before you try my recipe.

Hyderabadi Kachchey Gosht ki Biryani

The whole trick in this Biryani is to use very lean meat, and marinate it in a tenderizing mix before you cook, which is the most essential part. You cannot even think of preparing this Biryani without marinating it. Raw Papaya skin paste is always used back home for this purpose which is a powerful meat tenderizer. My Ammi however says that if the meat is tender enough, there is no need for a meat tenderizer. Here, I was unable to find unripe, raw and green baby papayas, which otherwise are quite easily available back in India. People love to plant Papaya in their backyards back home. So I set to hunt for other alternatives. I found out that Kiwifruit and Pineapple are also powerful meat tenderizers. Kiwifruit is very easily available here in Toronto, and hence I tried and was successful. The meat was so tender, juicy and perfectly cooked with a burst of flavors.

My dadi(grandmother) always advised us to use rice and meat in 1:1 ratio for Kachchi Biryani. However if you like a meaty biryani, go ahead and follow meat and rice in 1.5:1 ratio, or if you prefer more rice and less meaty, follow meat and rice in 1:1.5 ratio. To give time for the raw marinated meat to finish cooking along with rice, the rice is pre-soaked, and then just cooked for a minute or two, then drained and layered with the raw marinated meat and they are both cooked together. As the Biryani cooks, the steam from the meat and its marinade rises above to the rice and aids in its cooking as well. The rice also acquires flavors from the steam and the end result is piquant.

Hyderabadis prefer Kachchi Biryani over Pakki Biryani for many reasons~because this Biryani is the original Biryani, for its uniqueness in the method of preparation and ambrosial taste, and also because this biryani is very simple to prepare unlike considered. All you have to do is marinate for about 3 hrs, and then allow to slow cook for about an hour, thats it. You do not need to stand in front of the stove cooking it the whole time. Just leave on stove to slow cook and you are free to perform your other chores.

I prepare Kachchi Biryani~both Murgh and Gosht, in the oven as it is perfect for cooking on dum. Make sure that you have everything ready to hand before you begin cooking rice, as you will need to assemble the layers quickly, while the rice is still warm.

Hyderabadi Kachchey Gosht ki Biryani – Hyderabadi Lamb Biryani
Serves: 6-8
Total Marinating time: 3 1/2 hrs
Total ‘Dum/slow cooking’ time: Around 1 hr and 10 mins

Lean spring Lamb meat, with bone, preferably leg, cut into 5 cm cubes – 1 kg (my Ammi even adds mixed pieces like ribs, chops etc) excess fat trimmed, washed, drained and pat dried
for the tenderizing mix:
Raw Unripe Green Papaya skin –  grated or made into a paste , about 2 or 3 tbsp (or) Kiwi fruit – 1, about 50 gms, peel discarded and the pulp mashed into a smooth paste
Ginger garlic paste – 3 tbsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
for the marinade:
Thick Yogurt 2% – 300 ml
Yellow onions – 4 or 5, medium sized
Canola oil
Fresh Mint leaves – 1 tbsp, roughly chopped
Fresh Cilantro – 2 tbsp, roughly chopped
Small green chillies – 4-6, finely chopped
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Salt – 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder -1 tsp
Cardamom powder – 1/8 tsp
Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
for the rice:
Basmati Rice – 1 kg (old biryani rice)
Shah Zeera – 1/2 tbsp
Cardamom – 2
Cloves – 2
Cinnamon stick – one 2″ stick
Dried bay leaf – 1 or 2
Salt – 5 tsp
for the Biryani:(assembing layers)
Saffron threads – 2 big pinch
Warmed milk – 1/ cup
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Cilantro – 1/2 cup, loosely packed and finely chopped
Mint leaves – 1/4 cup, loosely
Fried onion – 1/2 cup
Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
additional ingredients:
Dough made with maida/all-purpose flour (flour+water) to seal the vessel(optional)

1. In a stainless steel/glass mixing bowl, add the tenderising mix and mix well. Wear gloves, add the meat and thoroughly mix the meat well. Using a knife, gash/poke the meat in the marinade. Mix once and again gash/poke it with a knife and then mix. Cover and let marinate for 1 1/2 hr.

2. In a kadai, pour in oil and deep fry the sliced onions until evenly golden brown in color, keep a close eye and make sure you do not burn them. Using a slotted spoon, remove the fried onions into a platter and spread them out. In a while, they will crisp up as they cool. Reserve the oil in which the onions were fried and let cool.
3. In a small bowl, add the warmed milk and soak the saffron threads in it.
4. In a small stainless steel/glass mixing bowl, add the marinade ingredients and mix well. Also add about 3/4 quantity of the fried onions to it, crush them lightly. Add this mixture into the marinating meat and thoroughly mix using a spoon. Cover and let marinate for 2 hrs.

5. Pour 1/4 cup of the cooled reserved oil in which the onions were fried into the marinating mixture. Mix well.
6. In a large thick walled oven-proof vessel/saucepan (if you have a thick walled deg, please use it) (I used a 13 quart thick walled dutch oven) (also choose a vessel that is large enough so that there is about 1/4 amount of free headspace left after the whole biryani is assembled for the steam to collect and aid in cooking), smear the bottom with solid ghee and spread the marinating meat with all the marinade in a single layer and keep ready.
7. Wash the rice in 3 changes of water and soak it in surplus fresh cool water for 30 minutes.
8. In a large stockpot, pour in surplus cool water and add the caraway seeds, cardamom, cloves, dried bay leaf and salt (do not forget adding salt). Cover and bring it to a boil on high. Once the water is boiling, drain the soaking rice and add it to the boiling water and stir. Cook for just 2 minutes and drain the rice immediately.
9. Spread the drained half cooked rice over the marinating meat in the vessel. Reserve 1 cup of rice. Spread evenly the chopped cilantro, mint, saffron soaking in milk, remaining fried onions and lemon juice. Now, spread evenly the reserved 1 cup of parboiled rice. Now pour evenly 1/4 cup of the cooled reserved oil in which the onions were fried. Cover the vessel properly with aluminium foil or a tight lid (with vents closed with dough if any) so that no steams can escape. You can also apply dough to seal the lid which is the traditional method.
10. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
11. (If the vessel you are using does not have a thick bottom, place a tawa on the stovetop and place the vessel with the assembled biryani on it). Cook the assembled biryani in the vessel on stove-top on high heat for 5-10 minutes, until nice steam has built up, which is called as the pehli bhaap, meaning first steam. Immediately transfer this vessel in the pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes. After that, turn the oven setting to 300°F and bake it for further 15 minutes, after which have a quick look to see if the rice has cooked and stick a fork through to test the meat(be careful as there will a lot of steam, do not burn yourselves). Cover tightly with the lid/foil again and cook for a furthur 15 minutes, if necessary. Remove from oven when it is done and wait for 10 mins before mixing the rice with meat, and serve on a large serving platter. For a special touch, garnish with more fried onions, cilantro and mint leaves, toasted/fried almonds or cashewnuts or pinenuts or raisins and quartered hard boiled eggs.

Serve this Biryani along with Mirchi Ka Salan or Baghare baingan or Tamatar ka Kut or plain and simple Dahi ki Chutney for a sumptuous Hyderabadi meal.

This lajawaab biryani is my contribution to the “The Hyderabadi Bakr-Eid Food Festival-’09” that I am hosting on my blog. The event is on and you can all send me your Bakr-Eid special recipes until December 31, 2009. Click on the link for more details.

Here are other versions of Kachchey Gosht ki Biryani from some of my fellow food blogger buddies:
1. Yasmeen’s version of Kachchey Gosht ki Biryani
2. Anjum’s version of Kachchey Gosht ki Biryani
3. Foodgoddess’s version of Kachchey Gosht ki Biryani

Luv,
Mona