If ever there was a competition for the most popular dish in the country, biryani would be hard to beat. Cooked in a plethora of spices, vegetables and meat, this aromatic dish has different variations across India. While some focus on meat, others can’t get over the fragrant aromatic rice. If you prefer flavored rice over vegetables and meat, then this easy recipe by Chef Kunal Kapoor is for you. She captioned the recipe post, “Creating a delicious plate of biryani, but too lazy to follow the lengthy process? To satisfy your craving here is my easy recipe for biryani rice, which you can make quickly And every bite is super delicious.”
(Also read: Love Biryani? Try These 5 Hyderabadi Biryani Recipes to Elevate Your Dining Table,
In the video, he also revealed that the words biryani and dish originated in India. Pulao may have Persian influence but Biryani does not.
Find the ingredients for making Biryani here:
1. Basmati Rice – 3 cups
2. Water – 2 liters
3. Saffron – a pinch
4. Milk – Cup
For Biryani Stock (bag,
- oil – cup
- bay leaves – 2
- Cinnamon (2” piece) – 2
- Cloves – 7-8nos
- Black pepper – 8-10
- Cardamom – 10-12
- Mace Sabut (Mace) – 2
- Shahi Jeera – 2 tbsp
- Onion chopped – 1½ cups
- Green chili pieces – 2
- Garlic coarsely chopped – 1½ tbsp
- Ginger coarsely chopped – 1½ tbsp
- Orange (Kinnu) – 1
- Mint leaves – 1 small bunch
- Water – 6 cups
- salt to taste
- Rose water – 1 tbsp
- Kewra – 2 tbsp
- Sweet ittar – 2 drops
- Ghee – 2 tbsp
Steps to make biryani
1) First put bay leaves in hot oil, then add cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, cardamom, mace whole and shahi cumin. Kunal Kapoor said that mace is one of the most important ingredients to add flavor to your biryani.
2) The preparation in the next step involves adding green chilies, roughly chopped garlic and ginger. Now first add orange juice and remaining kinnow and then mint leaves and stalks. Mix it well and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Now, add water. Wonder why orange? Kunal said, because it gives your recipe a sour taste and finally cuts the starch from the rice.
3) Now, use a filter and separate all the stock from the preparation. Take the stock – which now has all the different flavors of biryani – and bring it to a boil in a pan. Now add some mace powder and cardamom powder along with salt, rose water, kewra, only 2 drops of sweet attar.
4) Lastly, now you can add soaked rice to the mixture. Remember that the level of rice and water (the stock you’ve boiled) should be pretty much the same. Now add saffron dissolved in milk. Cover the container with a lid and let it cook on low flame. Check after sometime, Biryani Rice is ready.
to keep track:
Biryani Tips and Tricks by Kunal Kapoor:
1) Generally, people think that only long and thin rice like Basmati rice can make good biryani, but this is not true. Even sela rice which is comparatively thick and short, tastes good as biryani.
2) It is very important to soak the rice completely while making biryani. This process reduces your cooking time and cooks the rice properly.
3) It is always good to know the ratio of water and the chosen variety of rice before starting to prepare rice dish like biryani. You can check the ratio with a cup of rice and water first.
4) Always remember that the water in which you add biryani rice should be oversalted. This is because the rice absorbs the salt and the excess salt level is balanced in the final dish.
5) If the rice is undercooked, you can sprinkle some hot water on top and let it steam for some time. If you overcook the rice, take them out on a plate and spread the rice grains so that it doesn’t turn into khichdi.
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