Who doesn’t love Biryani ? we have seen enough debates on which one’s the best Biryani. Well I personally love Mutton Biryani ,ore than any other Biryani. Three of my most favorites are Hyderabadi Dum Biryani, Awadhi Biryani and Calicut Biryani. But recently I got to experience another popular Biryani that comes from Kolkata. Yes MUTTON DUM BIRYANI – KOLKATA STYLE is now my current favorite. Marinate Mutton pieces cooked with long grain basmati rice and pieces of potatoes is to die for. Btw, do you know the story behind the potatoes addition in Kolkata Biryani? Well, years back the NAWAB OF AWADH came to Kolkata and he was fond of Mutton Biryani. But seeing the shortage of Mutton in his troop, he asked his cook, then known as KHANSAMA to add big size potatoes in his biryani that tastes same as mutton. Since then the potatoes were added in Biryani and trust me they taste no less than Mutton. The legacy is still continued and potatoes are essential part of Kolkata Biryani, be is Mutton or Chicken.
Before coming to the recipe I would like to share something important with all my readers. You all must be wondering about my absence in my blog from a quite long time. March – April 2021 had been the most eventful months of my life. From winning the two most prestigious awards to getting infected by the deadly COVID-19, life was a Rollercoaster ride till now.
Our Covid Battle
𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 30𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐮𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 2𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥. 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, 1𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐌𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃 + 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬, 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞. 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 24𝐱7 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲’𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨.
𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦. 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞.
𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝’𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 3-4 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚 & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬, 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐱𝐲𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦..𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐮𝐣𝐞𝐞𝐛 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.
𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞, 𝐎𝐧 9𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥. 𝐁𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐈 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰.
𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐀𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞…. 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭.
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐮𝐣𝐞𝐞𝐛 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 5 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 10 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬. 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 20 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐲. 𝐄𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬. 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫.
𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡!
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐱𝐲𝐠𝐞𝐧, 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐭𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐫𝐲, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬, 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥!
𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐁𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭.
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞.
FBAI AWARDS 2021
Coming back to the awards. This means the world to me. From being nominated under 3 categories to winning the 2 best ones.
Top 3 Food Stylists, India 2021
Top 3 Recipe Blogs, India 2021
Thanks to all who voted for me and big thanks to the esteemed jury for all the minute screening, be it photography, food styling, or writing a blog. Special thanks to the ace food stylist Nitin Tandon @ntfoodstyling and the most lovable chef of all times Chef Ranveer Brar for looking into my work and appreciating it. Both the announcements took my heart away.
Last but not the least, thank you Allah for guiding me through out and keeping me away from all the odds. I leave it on now and forever. May you always shower me with blessings and help me make everyone proud.
Hard work pays off! Alhumdullilah!
I’d also like to put up a special mention and thanks to GRABON for featuring me as TOP FOOD BLOGGERS IN INDIA YOU MUST FOLLOW . Please do read the article where I share space with some of the very talented food bloggers of the country. Thank you GrabOn for this fabulous coverage & opportunity.
So now coming to the hero of the post.
It’s been so long I cooked something special for my family and did what I’m best in….styling and clicking food. This is technically my first post after winning the IFBAAWARDS 2021 for food stylist and best food blog awards by the FBAI powdered by Godrej.
Also the entire April was dedicated to Covid but Alhumdullilah we all are doing well now and have almost recovered. It’s been 25 days I kept myself away from kitchen and today I feel so happy to be back on my home ground. Thus, I had to play on the front foot and luckily it’s a six. Yayyy!
Made this ever so delicious KOLKATA BIRYANI today for Mujeeb & Abeer and they lovvvveeddd it…so did I. I couldn’t let it go without clicking a picture and documenting the recipe. So the recipe of this amazingly delicious Kolkata Biryani is finally here.
To cook Kolkata Biryani In a large mixing bowl, collect all ingredients mentioned under ‘Marination’. Mix them all together to make a wet mix. Add washed mutton pieces into it and rub and mix all together. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and refrigerate. Let the mutton marinate for at least 4 hours or preferable over night. Wash and soak rice in clean water an hour before you start cooking. The basmati rice doubles up and cooks well when soaked nicely. So not skip this step.
Cooking : Heat a thick bottom vessel, preferable aluminium handi and add the marinated mutton. Add green chilies, remaining fried onions and mix well, cover and cook over low heat. Stir in between and cook until done, it will take more than 60 minutes to cook thoroughly. Make sure you cook mutton on low heat or else it will dry up, burn and stick to the bottom of the handi. Turn off heat once done and close lid. In another wide thick bottomed handi, add water double the quantity of rice and boil. Add the washed rice along with ‘whole spices’ Add salt and cook rice uncovered until 75% done. Drain through a colander, keep aside.
Assembling : Place the mutton handi on a tawa and heat on low flame. Meanwhile add first layer of rice on top of mutton mix. Add fried potatoes over the rice and sprinkle some chopped mint and coriander. Again add the remaining rice as a second layer and finally garnish it with remaining chopped mint and coriander, fried onions, add ghee, some lemon juice, sprinkle food color and close lid. Seal the rim of the handi and lid with wheat flour dough and place some weight on top of the lid. Turn gas on high for 5 mins. As soon as you see steam coming out from the dough at one point, simmer the gas and let the biryani cook on dum for 20-25 mins. You will also see the sealed dough dry and cracked. This means the Biryani is ready. Turn off the gas and wait for 10 mins to settle. Carefully remove the seal, and open the lid. Gently mix Biryani and serve hot with Raita.
| Prep Time | 8 hours |
| Cook Time | 1.5 hours |
| Servings |
people
|
- 2 cups Fried Onions
- 1-2 cup Grated Raw Papaya
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- 2 tbsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tbsp Roasted Cumin Powder
- 1 Cup Yoghurt / Thick Curd whisked
- 1 tbsp Mint chopped
- 1 tbsp Cilantro/ Coriander chopped
- 1 cup Refined Oil
- 1 tbsp salt as needed
- 1/2 tsp Kewra Water
- 2 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 750 grams Mutton pieces
- 4 Big size Onions thin sliced and fried (Birista)
- 8 Green Chilies
- 4 tbsp Ghee / Clarified Butter
- 800 grams Long Grain Basmati Rice
- 4 Big size Potatoes cut into half and fried
- 1 tsp Biryani Food Color you can also add saffron soaked milk
Ingredients
For Marination :
Other Ingredients :
Whole Spices :
|
|
- In a large mixing bowl, collect all ingredients mentioned under 'Marination'. Mix them all together to make a wet mix. Add washed mutton pieces into it and rub and mix all together. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and refrigerate. Let the mutton marinate for at least 4 hours or preferable over night.
- Wash and soak rice in clean water an hour before you start cooking. The basmati rice doubles up and cooks well when soaked nicely. So not skip this step.
- Heat a thick bottom vessel, preferable aluminium handi and add the marinated mutton. Add green chilies, remaining fried onions and mix well, cover and cook over low heat. Stir in between and cook until done, it will take more than 60 minutes to cook thoroughly. Make sure you cook mutton on low heat or else it will dry up, burn and stick to the botton of the handi. Turn off heat once done and close lid.
- In another wide thick bottomed handi, add water double the quantity of rice and boil. Add the washed rice along with 'whole spices' Add salt and cook rice uncovered until 75% done. Drain through a colander, keep aside.
- Place the mutton handi on a tawa and heat on low flame. Meanwhile add first layer of rice on top of mutton mix. Add fried potatoes over the rice and sprinkle some chopped mint and coriander.
- Again add the remaining rice as a second layer and finally garnish it with remaining chopped mint and coriander, fried onions, add ghee, some lemon juice, sprinkle food color and close lid.
- Seal the rim of the handi and lid with wheat flour dough and place some weight on top of the lid. Turn gas on high for 5 mins. As soon as you see steam coming out from the dough at one point, simmer the gas and let the biryani cook on dum for 20-25 mins. You will also see the sealed dough dry and cracked. This means the Biryani is ready. Turn off the gas and wait for 10 mins to settle.
- Carefully remove the seal, and open the lid. Gently mix Biryani and serve hot with Raita.
The process of making Kolkata Style Chicken Biryani remains the same, just skip adding raw papaya as the chicken meat is tender and cooks faster and easily than mutton. The cooking time may also vary in chicken biryani. Constant eye balling and monitoring is required in any Biryani recipe. If you liked this recipe, try making at home and give me a feedback in comments below. Until then stay safe and happy cooking.
Love : Shaheen
