CURRY AND SPICE: MUTTON BIRYANI ..... AN ODE

I would not say cooking a Biryani is a cake walk for me but it is not a scary affair either ... I am absolutely relaxed while doing it though the preparation part starts the night prior to it.... it should if you want melt in the mouth mutton pieces as the meat pieces we get back in Kolkata... I have not travelled even 1/4th of India ..... so should not comment on my comfortability with the Biryani taste of other states. I doubt the authenticity of a Lucknow style Biryani served in a Kolkata restaurant and vice-versa.... though Bahadur Shah Zafar brought with him the original recipe! There has to be certain local influence in a dish from other states, hence I give utmost importance to my taste buds and do not bother much about its authenticity.... How can I? We are not wealthy enough to travel places frequently though we wish to.... I came across a BBC travel post yesterday.... where it shows a remote Moroccan town preparing a pizza like bread on sand.... immediately I was lost there.... I do follow such sites to provide some relief to a disturbed soul.... Why disturbed? Aww come on.... you forgot soon how tensed I am with my horrid BMI and thunderous thighs.... "shapely thighs" are a "quality" to have.... No, I have no intention to take a dig at the local people here... they wear revealing dresses and also know how to carry a dress.... how to sit and stand in public.... Ok, I admit I am "jealous" of not being able to show off my "assets" which are truly a "quality" to get a thousand adulations. I do adore beauty until it takes ugly turns!

I do believe in moderation, I could not stop myself from commenting on a post few weeks back where it showed burqa clad women running a race.... in a 40*C..... heat.... both men and women of different communities were making a mockery of them.... I could not stop myself from commenting.... "Stop it, they can even die of dehydration" .... A young boy.... may be a few years older than my son.... retaliated without an understanding of what I meant ..... said "when do we have the pleasure to see you running without any clothes?" ..... Though I am "mean" and "jealous" of not been able to woo handsome "men" ..... I really could not digest it! ..... I do like / love the "right" kinds of both men and women around .... men who respect women.... and women whose sole intention is not to woo boys by any means .... boys who can see a real woman beyond her physical frame.... women who know how to carry themselves well even in a mini-skirt.... all our wrong is in our attitude and intentions... Some of my dear friends wear a Hijab.... it is their religious belief! Wrong is when people mercilessly comment negatively on the women who were running in burqas!.... I did not create a ruckus calling every other person from my community because it was the hindu and christian men and women who were insulting those racers.... I blocked that boy.... the best I could do is to keep my cool in averse situations but unfortunately my irritable syndromes do not allow me.... Should I blame it on the approaching menopause?

I also feel proud of that father who with the dead body of his sixteen year old son on his lap could say .... "no retaliation.... let peace be restored!"..... A MUTTON BIRYANI..... AN ODE dedicated to the peace maker! No, I am not taking sides.... in a riot, innocents from both communities die, those 40 Indians could not return alive from the ISIS camp.... heart bleeds.... The heart roars when people with extreme degree of insensibility mix a long standing freedom struggle with the size of their arms, legs, waist, its an utter disgraceful mis-match! Anyway, My heart goes out to that father at this moment for whom a far more severe riot was stopped in Bengal.... I hope you are following the world news....

I was thinking when I go back for whom would I? Would the mother be alive?.... If not.... off course for the brother, my husband's sister & their family! I would love to be a selfish from a self-centric for my family.... husband, son, brother, husband's sister, cousins and their kin! You see, my 22 inch framed man needs a Biryani diet, he cannot even afford to wear a half-pant; too thin are his legs..... You cannot blame the wife's amount of "jealousy".... be a little kind to her dear peeps.... how does she consoles herself?... believing all her man's handsomeness is "between his two ears"...... Why did she have to prepare and share an Eggplant Raita with Porota alongside this MUTTON BIRYANI..... AN ODE....?..... Some I cannot avoid though I hate them for their fear towards commitments, but they do not make false promises to anyone!... The "shapey-neuley" relationship is to stay till my doom's day.... "amai na khyapaley mangshor sangey kichu toritarkari thakbey".... haha....

Coming to our monkey.... on a biryani day.... he does not google map for the way to the kitchen ..... barely giving mumma any chance to take better clicks.... anyway she is poor at it.... The taste of this MUTTON BIRYANI ..... AN ODE is more like Kolkata style biryani and an ode to this family's taste buds... I do my biryani following my help in Kolkata "Rizia Mashi's son-in-law's" recipe .... he works at a biryani joint there.... and I find his recipe perfect to my tastebud.... This kind of biryani calls for eggs and potatoes both... I skipped the boiled eggs... it was night time, biryani is a rich dish....

INGREDIENTS : [for the rice]

Long Grained Basmati : 1coffee mug
Black Cardamom : 2
Caraway Seed : 1tsp
Cinnamon Stick : 2-4 three inch sticks
Clove : 5-6
Javitri : 2-3
Salt : As Required
Water : As Required

INGREDIENTS : [to cook the mutton]

Mutton : 1kg [medium cut]
Onion : 2big [sliced]
Plain Yogurt : 1medium cup
Garlic Paste : 3tbsp
Ginger Paste : 2tsp
Grated Khoya : 1medium cup
Nutmeg : 1/2 of one ground to a powder
Paste of the the black cardamom, caraway seeds, cinnamon sticks, cloves and javitri that has been saved from the cooked rice
Red Chilli Powder : 1tbsp
Coriander Powder : 2tsp
Salt : As Required
Ghee : 1/2small cup [clarified butter]
Screw Pine Essence : 3-4 drops [else use rose water]

FINAL STAGE :

The Cooked Rice
The cooked Mutton
One medium cup of warm milk with few saffron strands soaked in
Crispy fried onion slices to garnish
Ghee or clarified butter : 2tbsp for each layer of mutton and rice
Screw Pine or Kewra Essence or Rose water : Few Drops
Potato : 3-4 [boiled, halved, fried]

PROCEDURE :

Marinate the washed mutton with beaten yogurt, salt, half of the ginger garlic paste for at least 4-5 hours.

Half boil the potatoes.... once cool... peel, half and rub with little salt and turmeric and fry!

Let us cook the rice first! Wash and soak the rice for 1/2 an hour!

Tie the mentioned spices in a clean piece of cloth and drop it on a vessel with enough water.

Switch on gas and let it come to boil.

When the water comes to boil, we will add the washed and soaked rice and salt as much as required.

Once the rice is half done, we will transfer it to a big strainer and let the water drain.

Heat ghee in a wok and fry the onion slices.

Add the rest of the ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes.

Add the marinated mutton along with the marinade... fold in well.

Cover cook at lowest heat for at least 40 minutes stirring in between. Open cover and add the nutmeg powder and paste of the cinnamon sticks, black cardamom, cloves, caraway seeds, javitri.

Mix well and cover cook further for 10 minutes or until it gets semi-dry at low heat.

Add the shredded solidified milk.