Awadhi Mutton Biryani

Breathe in the aroma of this princely mutton biryani, cooked the royal Awadhi style! Perfect for your dinner table feasting!
Awadhi Mutton Biriyani is a popular dish of Awadhi cuisine.Awadhi cuisine is a cuisine native to the city of Luknow.Awadhi biriyani is made by cooking meat in ghee with aromatic spices until the meat is tender then adding semi boiled rice and cooking in the sealed pot over the low heat till done.

Ingredients:

For garam masala:

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 8-10 cloves
• 2-3 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2-3 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp pepper corns
• 2 star anise
• 2-3 mace
• 2-3 brown cardamom
• 3-4 green cardamom

For mutton marination:

• 1/2 kg mutton
• 2-3 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• Cashew nut paste
• Pinch of garam masala
• 4-5 tsp. curd

For cooking:

• 2-3 tsp salt
• 3 tsp ghee
• 2-3  tsp oil
• 2-3 cups milk
• Saffron

Method:
For garam masala:

• Dry roast all the spices.
• Once they are roasted, transfer them to a masala grinder and grind them finely.

For mutton marination:

• To half kg mutton, add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric and chilli powder.
• Then add cashew nut paste, garam masala, curd and whisk it.
• Cover it with the lid and put it in the refrigerator for an hour.

Final Preparation:

• Let the meat come to room temperature. Season the meat with salt.
• Grease the handi with some ghee and oil. Transfer the marinated meat from the bowl to the handi.
• Now stir and cook the meat for a few minutes.
• Cover with the lid and simmer it for another half an hour.
• Now layer the mutton with cooked rice and pour a little saffron induced milk over it.
• Add a little salt, garam masala, roasted onions and ghee over it.
• Cover the handi with the lid and weight it down with something heavy. Keep the flame low.
• Cook for about half an hour. Serve it hot.

Tip: Add some kewra jal or gulab jal to biryani for an romatic essence.