Arabic Biryani is one of the classic and popular rice dishes. The receipe is for 5 persons, and require about 1h30 between preparation and cooking.
Ingredients :
¤ 1/2 kg (16 oz) shoulder meat, cubed
¤ 2 cups long grain rice (Basmati),washed
¤ 3/4 cup chopped onion
¤ 2 tablespoon shortening or butter
¤ 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in 1/4 cup of water
¤ 1 teaspoon ground dried coriander
¤ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¤ 1 teaspoon ground ginger
¤ 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
¤ 4 cups chicken stock
¤ salt (as desired)
¤ 2 bay leaves
¤ 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
¤ 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
¤ 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh coriander
¤ 2 tablespoon butter
¤ 1/2 cup fried onion rings, for garnish
¤ 60 g (2 oz) roasted cashew nuts
¤ 1/2 cup seeded raisins
marinating
marinate meat with chilli,turmeric and lemon juice(keep it in fridge for 45 min)dont add salt until its ready to cook since it reduces the moisture content of meat.
preparation
1 - Heat shortening in a pot over low heat. Stir in onions until golden.
2 - Stir in meat . Add coriander (dried and fresh), bay leaves, and spices (except saffron). Stir until meat becomes golden.
3 - Remove bay leaves. Add salt, saffron, chicken stock, and rice to the same pot (stock level should be at least 5 cm higher than rice level). Add butter. Cover pot. Cook over low heat until tender (and water evaporates).
- careful that rice dont get mashed
- when rice get cooked take a few spoon full of cooked rice and stir fry it with a bit turmeric so that this yellow rice is used for garnishing the dish
4 - Mix mixture with a spoon. To serve, line a large serving platter with rice-meat mixture, sprinkle fried onion rings, cashew nuts and sultanas. Serve hot.
