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Beef/Mutton Biriyani (Kerala Style)

An Indian one pot meal. Beef/Mutton cooked in spicy masala gravy and layeredwith cooked rice. A very tasty and delicious biriyani. Eventhough it takes time, definitely worth the effort!

Course Main Course
Cuisine kerala
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 5 serving
Author Jane Jojo

Ingredients

  • 1 Kilogram beef/mutton

Marination

  • 1 Tablespoon Chilly Powder
  • 1 Teaspoons turmeric Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 Teaspoon fennel Powder
  • salt

Masala

  • 2 Tablespoons ghee
  • 12 green chilly
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons ginger ( Crushed )
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons garlic ( Crushed )
  • 4 Tablespoons grated coconut
  • 2 Tablespoons cashew (Ground)
  • 4 onion (Medium)
  • 3 tomato
  • 2 Tablespoons curd

Rice

  • 4 Tablespoons ghee
  • 3 1/2 Cups Biriyani Rice / Basmati Rice
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 Tablespoon fennel seed ( Perinjeerakam)
  • 5 cinnamon
  • 3 Star Anise ( Thakolam )
  • 7 Cloves
  • 5 Cardamom Seeds
  • 3 Bay Leaf
  • curry leaves

Garnish

  • ghee
  • 2 onion (Medium)
  • 2 Tablespoons Cashew Nuts
  • 1 Tablespoon Raisins

Layering

  • 1 lime
  • coriander leaves
  • mint leaves

Instructions

  1. Marinate cleaned beef/mutton with ingredients listed under marination - chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, aniseed powder and salt. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.

  2. Soak rice in water for 1 hr.

  3. Add 2 tbsp water and cook the meat in pressure cooker until meat is done. Usually it takes around 2-3 whistles.

  4. Meanwhile, you can start masala preparation. Grind the green chillies, ginger and garlic.
  5. Slice 4 onions. Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a wok. Saute these onions with salt until golden brown.
  6. Add grounded green chilli mix and saute it well.
  7. Add sliced tomatoes to it and saute until tomatoes are done.
  8. Mix the curd and cook for 2 -3 minutes.
  9. Saute the grated coconut until golden brown. Grind the coconut and ground cashew with some water and make it a good paste. Alternatively, I sometimes ground the cashew and fried coconut into fine powder, mix it with  water and make it a good paste. Add coconut cashew mix and then garam masala. Saute it well.

  10. Add cooked beef/mutton with the water (gravy) . Adjust salt. Water should be just enough to mix well with rice. Cook it for around 5 - 10 minutes.

  11. For rice preparation - Drain the water from the rice. Heat ghee in the pan/ cooker. Add turmeric powder, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom seeds, curry leaves, cloves, star anise and aniseeds.
  12. Once it is sauted well, add rice. Saute it till rice is crispy.
  13. Add 4 - 4 1/2 water to it with enough salt. Cover and cook until rice is done. Depending on the rice, you may need to add extra water as well. It would approximately take 15 minutes. Refer notes on tips to cook rice.
  14. For garnish - Thinly slice onions and deep fry it in ghee. Sprinkle salt and bit sugar. Roast cashews and raisins.

  15. ** Never miss this step. Layer a pan / cooker with alternating layers of rice and the beef /mutton masala. Extract lemon juice. Add coriander leaves, mint leaves, lemon juice, 1 tsp ghee, fried onions, cashews and raisins at every layer.

  16. Heat the layered biriyani for about 20 minutes. It is a good option to bake it as well. Rice and biriyani masala gets blended well with this. You need not add water since biriyani masala has good gravy content.
  17. Serve it with raitha, pickle and papad.

Recipe Notes

Cook Rice - While cooking rice, the moment you don't find any water at the top, switch off the pan. But keep it closed for another 10 - 15 minutes. By this time, water would be completely absorbed, and rice would be cooked. Open the pan and fluff the rice otherwise, rice will get sticky towards down the pan.