Mutton ''Dum- cooked'' Biryani !
I have always pressure-cooked our Biryanis for obvious reasons- it is easier, faster and healthier. But for a long long time I had been toying with the idea of making Mutton Biryani in the famous '' Hyderabadi Dum'' way and not the mundane pressure-cooked way!
Finally, last Sunday I wrenched the opportunity from my hubby who is always eager to cook mutton dishes. I did have an idea about how I wanted my biryani to turn out but just to improve on these ideas, I scoured the net. I ended up picking up cues from several recipes of the dum biryani on the net. However, I did not follow any particular one by the book but kept customising as I went along. I will but make a special mention of the recipe by Sanjeev Kapoor of Khana Khazana fame - as it seemed the most straightforward and time effective.
Serves 4-5
Base Ingredients;
Rice- 1 1/2 half cups washed and drained. (Basmati rice is good for Biryani )
Mutton- 600 grams washed thoroughly- mixed pieces
Ingredients for marinating the mutton;
Yoghurt - plain - 1 Cup
Onions- 3 Medium sized onions, deep fried- browned, crispy and crushed
Ginger paste- 1 tablespoon
Garlic paste- 1 tablespoon
Garam Masala- freshly ground mix of cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, green cardamons, peppercorns and cloves.
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Coriander leaves
Salt - to taste
Vegetable Oil- 1 tablespoon
Ingredients for preparing the Biryani rice;
Bayleaves
Red Dried chilli- 1/ 2
Cardamon seeds- green and black
Cloves
Black peppercorn
Cinnamon sticks
Onion - 3 medium, sliced
Onion - 1 medium, deep fried and browned
Saffron- A few strands mixed with milk
Mint leaves
Salt
Ghee
Preparation:
Marination;
Mix all the ingredients for marination together and marinate the mutton pieces generously with it for 3 hours. Refrigerate.
Preparing the Rice;
Boil water in an open saucepan, temper it with 1/2 bayleaves, 1 cinnamon stick, a few green cardamons and cloves.
Boil the rice in this water till it is 3/4 th cooked. Drain and keep aside.
Preparing the mutton;
Heat a tablespoon of ghee/ oil in a wok - add in the crushed black cardamon seeds, cinnamon stick, black peppercorn, dried red chilli and finally the sliced onion.
Fry till the onions are translucent.
Add the marinated mutton pieces frying them on high heat for about 7-8 minutes.
After that cover the lid of the work and cook the mutton pieces on low heat till they are tender.
This process is likely to take 45 minutes to an hour - the mutton pieces must be tender and well-cooked but not dry.
Final leg of preparation - Preparing the Biryani
Take a deep bottomed pot/ handi or pan, layer the bottom with ghee.
Spread half of the rice on top of the ghee.
Put all of the cooked mutton on top of this rice.
Put the remaining half of the rice on top of the mutton.
Pour the saffron milk.
Garnish the top with mint leaves and deep-fried onion slices.
Close the lid.
Layer the edge of the lid/ pan with dough evenly making sure not to leave any gaps for the steam to escape.
The Biryani is now ready to cook on low heat under ''dum.''
How to make sure your Biryani is ''done under dum''?
If you are cooking under dum for the first time, it might give you the jitters to think of ''what may be / may not be'' cooking inside that pot as you cannot open the lid to check.
Fear not, trust your instincts and keep checking for fresh steam being made inside the pot. This will appear as tiny droplets on the lid (using a glass/ transparent lid is helpful). If no fresh steam is being made, your biryani might be already cooked and you might need to remove it from the fire before it gets burned.
The second way to determine is to feel the hardness of the dough- once the dough is hard and ready to crack, you know your dum biryani is ready to devour.
It took my biryani a good 30 minutes to cook under dum. Yours might take a tad more or a tad less - keep an eye on the steam and the dough and every thing should go as per plan.
Serve your Biryani hot with a Raita of your choice. My suggested choices- Cucumber Raita (grated cucumber mixed with yoghurt and tempered with roasted cumin seeds) or Mixed Raita (chopped cucumber and tomato, sliced onion and diced green chilli mixed with yoghurt and tempered with amchur powder and salt) are good to go -along!
Special Tips
If you are really looking for an amazing experience do not short-cut on any preparation time or ingredients;
The only drawback I faced was that my stockpot was too huge to cook for 3 adults and 1 child so I had a hard time making layers. But since the recipe has been a runaway success, I intend to soon invest in a handi and repeat the magic!
Health Alert:
This dish though yummylicious is heavy on the stomach and will not really help if you are trying hard to tame that belly! I wouldn't however advise you to cut down on the ingredients as that will affect the taste.
My advice would be to enjoy this dish once in a while in a smaller portion size (in other words don't gorge!!) - you can save some for the next day (biryani tastes yummier when kept) or call friends over to share with you!
Have fun with this recipe and do get back with your comments/ feedback!
Finally, last Sunday I wrenched the opportunity from my hubby who is always eager to cook mutton dishes. I did have an idea about how I wanted my biryani to turn out but just to improve on these ideas, I scoured the net. I ended up picking up cues from several recipes of the dum biryani on the net. However, I did not follow any particular one by the book but kept customising as I went along. I will but make a special mention of the recipe by Sanjeev Kapoor of Khana Khazana fame - as it seemed the most straightforward and time effective.
.JPG) |
| Dum Mutton Biryani |
Serves 4-5
Base Ingredients;
Rice- 1 1/2 half cups washed and drained. (Basmati rice is good for Biryani )
Mutton- 600 grams washed thoroughly- mixed pieces
Ingredients for marinating the mutton;
Yoghurt - plain - 1 Cup
Onions- 3 Medium sized onions, deep fried- browned, crispy and crushed
Ginger paste- 1 tablespoon
Garlic paste- 1 tablespoon
Garam Masala- freshly ground mix of cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, green cardamons, peppercorns and cloves.
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Coriander leaves
Salt - to taste
Vegetable Oil- 1 tablespoon
Ingredients for preparing the Biryani rice;
Bayleaves
Red Dried chilli- 1/ 2
Cardamon seeds- green and black
Cloves
Black peppercorn
Cinnamon sticks
Onion - 3 medium, sliced
Onion - 1 medium, deep fried and browned
Saffron- A few strands mixed with milk
Mint leaves
Salt
Ghee
Preparation:
Marination;
Mix all the ingredients for marination together and marinate the mutton pieces generously with it for 3 hours. Refrigerate.
Preparing the Rice;
Boil water in an open saucepan, temper it with 1/2 bayleaves, 1 cinnamon stick, a few green cardamons and cloves.
Boil the rice in this water till it is 3/4 th cooked. Drain and keep aside.
Preparing the mutton;
Heat a tablespoon of ghee/ oil in a wok - add in the crushed black cardamon seeds, cinnamon stick, black peppercorn, dried red chilli and finally the sliced onion.
Fry till the onions are translucent.
Add the marinated mutton pieces frying them on high heat for about 7-8 minutes.
After that cover the lid of the work and cook the mutton pieces on low heat till they are tender.
This process is likely to take 45 minutes to an hour - the mutton pieces must be tender and well-cooked but not dry.
Final leg of preparation - Preparing the Biryani
Take a deep bottomed pot/ handi or pan, layer the bottom with ghee.
Spread half of the rice on top of the ghee.
Put all of the cooked mutton on top of this rice.
Put the remaining half of the rice on top of the mutton.
Pour the saffron milk.
Garnish the top with mint leaves and deep-fried onion slices.
Close the lid.
Layer the edge of the lid/ pan with dough evenly making sure not to leave any gaps for the steam to escape.
The Biryani is now ready to cook on low heat under ''dum.''
 |
| Biryani cooking under dum - see the steam droplets on the lid |
How to make sure your Biryani is ''done under dum''?
If you are cooking under dum for the first time, it might give you the jitters to think of ''what may be / may not be'' cooking inside that pot as you cannot open the lid to check.
Fear not, trust your instincts and keep checking for fresh steam being made inside the pot. This will appear as tiny droplets on the lid (using a glass/ transparent lid is helpful). If no fresh steam is being made, your biryani might be already cooked and you might need to remove it from the fire before it gets burned.
The second way to determine is to feel the hardness of the dough- once the dough is hard and ready to crack, you know your dum biryani is ready to devour.
It took my biryani a good 30 minutes to cook under dum. Yours might take a tad more or a tad less - keep an eye on the steam and the dough and every thing should go as per plan.
Serve your Biryani hot with a Raita of your choice. My suggested choices- Cucumber Raita (grated cucumber mixed with yoghurt and tempered with roasted cumin seeds) or Mixed Raita (chopped cucumber and tomato, sliced onion and diced green chilli mixed with yoghurt and tempered with amchur powder and salt) are good to go -along!
Special Tips
If you are really looking for an amazing experience do not short-cut on any preparation time or ingredients;
- Freshly grind your garam masala and you wont miss the packaged biryani masala sold in the market.
- Do not cut-short the marination time for the mutton or the time taken to cook it in the wok.( Do not pressure cook as much as you might be tempted to - by experience I can vouch that there is a phenomenal difference in the taste and texture).
- If you want it the 'dum' way, do it properly, again low heat, layers and oodles of patience do the trick!
The only drawback I faced was that my stockpot was too huge to cook for 3 adults and 1 child so I had a hard time making layers. But since the recipe has been a runaway success, I intend to soon invest in a handi and repeat the magic!
.JPG) |
| The Final Product- Home cooked Hyderabadi Dum Biryani |
Health Alert:
This dish though yummylicious is heavy on the stomach and will not really help if you are trying hard to tame that belly! I wouldn't however advise you to cut down on the ingredients as that will affect the taste.
My advice would be to enjoy this dish once in a while in a smaller portion size (in other words don't gorge!!) - you can save some for the next day (biryani tastes yummier when kept) or call friends over to share with you!
Have fun with this recipe and do get back with your comments/ feedback!
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