Bengal special: Poor man’s biryani

Pushpesh Pant

Those addicted to the classic dum ki Hyderabadi biryani may throw a fit and purists may frown at the lack of colour or seductive aromas. But who cares? For us, in this scorching summer, Kolkata biryani is a comfort food par excellence. Light yet flavourful, it leaves us with zilch guilty conscience. Moreover, it presents far fewer hassles to make. To top it all, the delicacy claims royal pedigree tracing descent straight from the kitchens of Wazid Ali Shah in exile. The inclusion of potatoes is explained in legendary accounts by the need to ‘economise’ due to the measly pension granted by the British!

We recently enjoyed an exceptionally well made ‘Bong’ biryani by chef Ashwani. We share with our readers a simplified recipe, though no less tempting.

Method

Clean, trim, wash and pat dry the meat. Heat ghee in a thick bottommed pan and stir fry the onions till they turn brown. Then add garlic-ginger paste along with the meat. Sear the meat on high heat and stir continuously to avoid burning the pastes. Reduce the heat and brown the meat. Now add the garam masala, salt and deghi mirch along with sugar. Pour in whisked curd in a slow and steady stream, stirring vigorously to avid curdling. After a minute, add 1 cup of water and pressure cook or slow cook for about 45 minutes. In the meanwhile, boil the rice with the bay leaf and whole spices till done 9/10th. Parboil the potatoes or better deep fry till the exterior is scorched. Don’t cook fully. Line a heavy bottomed pan with a little ghee and start with a layer of almost done rice. Remove meat from the pot or cooker and place a few pieces on top of the rice. Repeat till all the material is used. Sprinkle half a cup of strained liquid in which the meat is cooked all over. Add potatoes to the last but one layer. Cover with a heavy lid and ‘finish’ on low heat for 10 minutes. Sprinkle kewra essence and cover it again. Enjoy steaming hot.

Kolkata Biryani 

Ingredients

Mutton 1 kg

Long grain rice 500g 

(soaked for half an hour)

Potatoes 4 

(large, peeled and halved) 

Curd 1 cup (whisked)

Bay leaf 1

Cloves 3

Green cardamom 3-4

Cinnamon stick 1 inch piece

Black pepper 1 tsp

A few blades of mace

Onions 2 

(medium sized, sliced fine)

Garlic-ginger paste 1 tbsp

Garam masala 1 tsp (preferably home ground) 

Deghi mirch 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Sugar 1 tsp or to taste

Ghee 1 cup

A few drops of Kewra essence