Thalassery Mutton Biriyani

Ingredientsfor 5 servings

• 21/2 Lbs Mutton 1 kg, goat
• 13 Cloves Garlic crushed, medium
• 1 large Piece Ginger — crushed
• 4 nos Tomatoes — chopped
• 13 nos Green chillies
• 3 nos Onions — thinly sliced
• 2 tsp Fresh pepper powder
• 1 tbsp Lime juice
• 2 tbsp Curd
• 1/2 tsp Garam masala preferably home made with jathi pathri
• 1 large Coriander leaves — chopped
• 1 handful Mint leaves — chopped
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, to taste
• To prepare rice:(make the rice after the biryani masala is ready
• 31/2 cup Basmati rice/Biryani rice
• 5 cup Water
• 1 cup Onion sliced, medium
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds Jeera
• 5 nos Cardamom cloves (Elakka)
• 7 nos Cloves (Grambu)
• 5 small Cinnamon sticks
• 2 nos Bay leaves
• Ghee, to taste
• Salt, to taste
• 2 nos Onions — thinly sliced
• 12 piece Cashew nuts
• 12 nos Raisin Unakka munthiri
• Ghee and oil to fry the onions

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Prepare Biryani masala first: Wash mutton well and cut into big pieces. For biryani, mutton pieces must be little bit big. Not too big.

2. Step 2

   Grind ginger, garlic and green chillies. No need to make it like a paste.

3. Step 3

   Heat pressure cooker and add oil. cook ginger mixture and onions along with salt until the onions become translucent. Salt will make the onions become translucent fast.

4. Step 4

   Add tomatoes and cook it, stirring until it softens.

5. Step 5

   Next, add mutton pieces, pepper powder and turmeric powder. Stir everything together thoroughly and Let it cook for 15 minutes.

6. Step 6

   Mutton will take long time to cook. After 15 minutes, you can pressure cook for 3 more whistles. There will be enough water coming from mutton/tomato/onions.

7. Step 7

   Once the mutton is cooked, wait until the pressure cooker cools down or until all the pressure releases from the cooker.

8. Step 8

   If the gravy is lot, boil them again to reduce the gravy. (If you are preparing for more rice make sure you have enough gravy).

9. Step 9

   Add lime juice, chopped coriander and chopped mint leaves.

10. Step 10

    If the mutton is not cooked well, boil it for some more time. After 5 minutes and if the meat is cooked well, add curd and give it a good stir. Once the curd is mixed do not boil it. Add home made garam masala and close the pressure cooker with a lid and switch it off.

11. Step 11

    Make garnishing: Fry the cashew nuts in ghee and oil. Set aside when the color of the cashew starts changing.

12. Step 12

    Fry the raisins and set aside. Make sure you don`t burn it.

13. Step 13

    Now, fry the onion until it becomes golden color. Once it is fried, place it on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

14. Step 14

    Home made garam masala must be prepared before you are done with the rice.

15. Step 15

    To prepare rice: Wash rice well and pour enough water to immerse the rice and keep it for 15 minutes.

16. Step 16

    Heat a vessel and put the ghee. When the ghee is hot enough, put the onions and cook well until onion starts changing the color.

17. Step 17

    Add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds and bay leaves until the nice aroma of spices comes out. Pour 5 to 6 glasses of water into the vessel. Make sure you don`t put more water than needed. If the water is not enough you can add water at a later stage.

18. Step 18

    Stir in the needed amount of salt to this.

19. Step 19

    Now strain the rice and put it into the vessel. Cook the rice in high flame with lid open. When the water is almost gone, close the lid and cook the rice for around 8 minutes. Make sure the rice doesn`t over cook. Also make sure you cook the rice enough. You can keep checking it by pressing the rice. Once the rice is cooked, just mix the rice without messing the rice up. You can just shake the vessel also to mix it.

20. Step 20

    Make dum for biryani: Take a oven safe thick vessel and apply ghee in the vessel.

21. Step 21

    Divide the rice into 3 portions and Biriyani masala into 2 portions.

22. Step 22

    Now, sprinkle garam masala on top of the rice. Put enough garam masala around little less than half teaspoon.

23. Step 23

    Now put the first portion of rice into the vessel and spread it nicely and put the 1st portion of biryani masala with mutton and spread it. Now put the 2nd portion of rice and spread nicely. Sprinkle the garam masala as mentioned above.

24. Step 24

    Now put the remaining portion of masala with mutton and spread it nicely.

25. Step 25

    Spread the 3rd portion of rice on top of the biryani masala and sprinkle the garam masala as mentioned above.

26. Step 26

    Get a long spoon and just push into the bottom and move a little. It is just to do a small mix of rice and mutton. Do it in 2 or 3 places. Don`t mix it too much.

27. Step 27

    Now spread the cashew, raisins and onions on top of the rice.

28. Step 28

    Cover the vessel with aluminium foil and put the lid on top of it.

29. Step 29

    Preheat oven around 300 degrees on bake mode and put the vessel in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. If you don`t have oven, put on the gas and in a low flame. Keep it for 20 minutes.

30. Step 30

    Get out the vessel and open the foil and mix the thalassery biryani well with masala and the onions.

31. Step 31

    :) the thalassery biriyani/biryani with curd salad and pappadam.