Did you know that Ambur in Tamilnadu has more biryani hotels per capita than any other city in the world? Who can blame them!
Ambur Mutton Biryani is popularly known as Ambur Star Briyani and is made by tenderly cooking juicy, succulent pieces of mutton with minimal spices.
It is a specialty of the nawabs of Arcot who is said to have first cooked and made this biryani recipe in southern parts of India, mainly Ambur in Tamil Nadu.
This biriyani is very special because it is generally cooked on hot, wood fires and is made with a special variety of short grain rice called seeraga or jeera samba rice.
I made this recipe during #lockdown2020 and thus didn’t have any jeera samba rice with me at home, but since I was in the mood to experiment, made it with basmati rice instead. But please… do try it if possible with jeera samba rice if you can get your hands on it. I’m certain the outcome will be a million times better! I know I will be as soon as these crazy times are over!
You can also check out the demo video on my Youtube Channel at - @AmburMuttonBiriyani
Youtube: MyFoodChic
Facebook: @MyFoodyChic
Instagram: @MyFoodyChic
Twitter: @MyFoodyChic
Ingredients:
500g mutton pieces
2 cups rice
1/3 cup of coconut oil
1 ½ tbsp ghee
1-inch piece of cinnamon
5 cloves
3 green cardamoms
3 tbsp yoghurt
200g tomatoes, chopped
250g red onions, sliced
6 green chillies, whole
Juice of ½ a lemon
100g ginger & garlic, crushed
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/3 cup of water
½ cup of coriander & mint leaves, chopped
½ cup of water
Salt to taste
Red food colouring
Method:
In a pressure cooker, heat the oil.
Then add the cinnamon, cardamom & cloves and stir-fry for 2 minutes until the flavours infuse.
Now add only ½ of the onions and fry until they turn translucent. Keep stirring in between.
Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
Add the chilli powder and mix well.
Add the mutton, salt, tomatoes, the balance onions and combine well.
Add the green chillies, lemon juice and yoghurt. Mix well.
Cook on high heat while regularly stirring for around 15 minutes.
Add 1/3 cup water and stir-fry for another 5 minutes. If there is a lot of liquid already, skip this step.
Add ½ cup of water, close and pressure-cook for around 8 whistles or until done.
My pressure cooker takes around 7-8 whistles, depending on the meat, but please follow the timing of yours as just like ovens, all pressure cookers are different, too.
In another pan, layer the biriyani in this matter – rice, meat, ghee coriander & mint,
On the final layer of rice, spread the ghee and then sprinkle the food colouring.
Finally, cover with an aluminium foil and then place the pan cover to seal it well.
You can cook it directly on a very low flame, but to prevent the burning of the bottom layer of the biriyani, place the pan on a tawa and cook on very low heat for 20 to 30 minutes.
This biriyani is good on its own, but I like to serve it with boiled eggs, fried onions, raita, mango pickle and crispy pappads.
PS: If you make any of my recipes, do tag me on Instagram as @MyFoodyChic and use the #MyFoodyChic hashtag. I really do love seeing your takes on my recipes!
XOXO, Jovanka
Comments
Post a Comment