Finally, the recipe! Many of you may find this a bit convoluted, and I apologize. It's a complicated dish to explain. You kind of just have to be there. This picture does not at all give a pot of biryani justice. I took this the day after, when I had carted home a big container of it from my parents' and it had all gotten mixed up. The initial presentation is stunning, and lays out onto a large platter in an incredibly photogenic way. This recipe is for goat meat. GOAT. Love. If you watched Oprah last week you know that goat is the #1 most consumed meat in the world. I love goat. LOVE it. It's fantastic in biryani. I won't go within a yard of chicken biryani, and yes, you can substitute lamb, but I don't know, there is just something magical about goat meat in biryani. You can find goat at your local halal butcher. Don't be scared, go. This recipe was using a leg, a total of 4 lbs, the butcher cut it up and it was with the bone. Ask for a leg on the small size - it will be more tender. You want to wash the meat thoroughly, remove excess bones, and pat dry. You can cut this recipe in half as this probably feeds 10 people (you can even cut the recipe down more, it's not an exact science, but it does takes some experience to get things just right). You'll want a portion of rice to meat that you are comfortable with. My family loves rice, if you want more meat, adjust accordingly. This recipe is actually pretty easy when it comes to biryani - the Shan masala provides a good shortcut, as do store-bought fried onions. You'll need to get these things from an Indian grocery store. Here is what you will need.
a very large pot (maybe 10 quarts, 7 if you are reducing the amount)
4 lb goat meat (leg)Shan Bombay Biryani Masala (1/2 packet)
3 t ginger paste
3 t garlic paste
2 cups plain yogurt
2 cups fried onions
ground garam masala
whole garam masala (listed below)
4 cups rice
1 stick butter
1 cup milk
1 t saffron (soaked in warm water)
4 potatoes (optional)
Marinate meat in ginger and garlic (1 hour) then add Shan masala. Heat 1/3 cup oil in large pot. Add (whole garam masala) bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, peppercorn. Let pop, then add meat, sear and stir. Then add fried onions and stir (you want the onions to get nice and dark, a dark masala makes a richer color biryani). Add yogurt, turn to low, cover and simmer. Let this cook for several hours (checking in on it along the way). Goat is a lean meat and takes a long time to cook, slowly. Potatoes - shortly fry large chunks of potatoes (pricked) and set aside. When the meat is 2/3 way cook, add potatoes (mm, maybe 2 hours?). Add hot water if you think the meat needs moisture (it needs to be wet). Scrape the bottom along the way. Rice - bring large pot of water to boil and add a few cups of washed and soaked basmati rice (4 cups). Infuse the water with whole garam masala if you like. Do not bring the water to a rigorous boil, when the rice still has a bite to it, drain it. Check in on the meat, the gravy should be thick, not watery. Remove from heat and set up a little assembly line: layer 1/4 of the rice, sprinkle of fried onions, drizzle of saffron water, drizzle milk. You can add powdered garam masala if you want. After the last layer of rice add 1 stick of butter, cubed. Seal tightly with foil (if you are using a large dutch oven, place foil on and then lid. You really want a tight seal. In Bombay, they line the seal with dough so it will bake and create an airtight seal. For real. Place in oven (325 degrees) for 45 minutes.
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