𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒊 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒊..

Lucknowi Biryani:

As you enter kitchen to prepare biryani first thing you are suppose to do is finely slice onions ( 8 for the current one) and deep fry it until golden brown. Byt the time onion is getting fried on high flame you can start marinating thr mutton. Turn off the flame befire it turns complete golden brown because it takes very short time to turn black and you will loose all your hopes and make muttoj curry instead. For marination you need 1kg mutton, 6 green chillies slit half, 1/2 cup fried onions, 1tbsp ginger garlic paste,1 cup curd, 1tsp turmeric powder, 2tsp red chilli powder, 1tsp coriander powder and salt.

Marinate for 2 hours. 

Take a vessel in which you would steam the biryani, wide open vessel. Add 3tsbp ghee, 2 bay leaves, 2 sticks of 3 inch cinnamon, 8/10 cloves, around 10 black pepper, 4 cardamom. Now add the marinated meat and roast it in ghee. When it is completly roasted add 1tsp yellow chilli powder. Now comes the potli masala. Lucknows food without spices from potli is incomplete and no one tells the recipe of what it contains even if it is just sugar. Old people have this superstition that there should be atleast one secret ingredient. "Khane ka poora ilm kisi ko nahi hona chahiye siwaye aapke". To this I remember my mother telling me how her great grandmothet used to cook. She never let other cook and dare she taught others. Whatever her grandmother had learnt was just by peeping through the windows. Okay so now potli masala which has powderd javithri(5), cardamom(8), black pepper (10) and rock salt. After this add 1/2tsp kewda water. ( Note: Close the vessel with a lid while cooking and keep stirring in between)When the meat is 80% cooked add 1 anx 1/2 cup water to make yakhni. Close and lid and cook it well. On the other side you need to wash and soak 1/2 kilo rice. Use a mild aromatic basmati not the highly aromatic one. After soaking it for 15mins keep a couldron with water to boil and add 2 bay elaves and 2 cinnamon sticks. Let the water boil and then add half of the soaked rice. Now coming to the yakhni. Add few strands of kesar. Now take 1/4th cup of milk in a cup and add the stock from the vessel into it. Richness is very important in lucknow biryani and hence this trick. Cook the rice 50% and add a layer on it, evenly. Spread fried onions, stock and mint leaves. Now cook the second half of the rice to 75%(almost cooked) and speard it over it and spread yakhni, fried onions, saffron water, coriander leaves and mint leaves. Close the lid using the dough and steam it for 15mins and your biryani is ready. I really didn't plan on writing this much but it is biryani and I just couldn't help but write everything in detail.

Happy Cooking❤️