Hara Gosht Biriyani

A mutton biriyani with a green masala

• CuisineIndian
• CategoryLamb
• CourseMains

Ingredients

• 2 kgGoat meat, diced, with bones
•  
• Marinade
• 2 cupsYoghurt
• 4 tbspCoriander seeds
• 2 tbspCumin seeds
• 1 tbspShahjeera
• 1 tbspPepper
• 1 tspTurmeric
• 6 tbspGinger
• 4 tbspGarlic
• 6Green chillies
•  
• Curry
• 10Green cardamom
• 2Black cardamom
• 10Cloves
• 1 pieceCinnamon
• 800 gmsOnions, sliced
• 1 kgTomatoes, chopped
• 2 bunchesCoriander
• 1 bunchMint
• 2 tbspGreen peppercorns
• 4 sheetsPuff pastry
• 8Eggs, boiled
• Salt
• Oil
•  
• Rice
• 200 gmsOnions, sliced
• 1 cupWhole cashews
• 6 cupsRice
• 2 cupsMilk
• 1 pinchSaffron
• 2 tbspGhee
• 1 tbspGaram masala

Preparation

1. Grind the spices for the marinade and mix with the yoghurt
2. Marinate the meat in the marinate for four hours or more


3. Coarsely ground the cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon
4. Heat oil and add ground spices and fry for a minute
5. Add sliced onions and fry till soft
6. Add marinated meat along with any excess marinade and chopped tomatoes
7. Bring to boil and then simmer for 1 hour or till the meat is tender
8. Grind coriander and mint and add along with the green peppercorns and simmer for a few minutes
9. Add salt to taste and remove from heat


10. Wash rice in water and drain
11. Heat oil in a pan
12. Fry sliced onions till brown and remove
13. Fry cashews till golden and remove
14. Add ghee and heat
15. Add the garam masala and fry for a few seconds
16. Add washed rice and stir till the grains are mixed with the ghee
17. Add milk and about 10 cups of water along with the saffron
18. Bring to a gentle boil and then simmer till rice is nearly cooked and the water is all absorbed


19. In a large pan, layer the rice and the goat curry, finishing with rice on top
20. Sprinkle with fried onions and cashews
21. Halve boiled eggs and arrange on top
22. Arrange pastry sheets to seal pan completely
23. Put in an oven at 180°C for 45 minutes

This was cooked for a large gathering and the quantities are proportionally large. Use about a quarter for a normal meal. You can use lamb but goat comes out best. Include some bones as this improves the taste. The process has many steps, the ingredients list is long but, hopefully, the results will be worth it.

I hate being surprised by whole spices in the rice, so I have coarsely ground the whole spices that go into the biriyani. Once it is all arranged in the pan and the top decorated with eggs, it should look something like this.

Drape the pastry sheets so that they hang over the side and seal the rice completely. I used four sheets and when almost covered, it looked like this.

You can see a bit of the rice, till the last pastry sheet is draped.

The pastry sheet is then bent over the edge and stuck to the sides so that the rice is completely sealed in and, when heated, the steam will be trapped, cooking the rice and curry together. Traditionally, a lid is placed on top and sealed using dough. But this looks nicer and the pastry comes out crisp. Like this.

Once the crispy pastry is cracked open, you can get at the rice and curry. You can have pieces of the crispy pastry as a delicious side.