Byriani

Notes on the recipe.

I found that you need a big baking dish for this because otherwise the rice can go a bit pudding’y. I use a big brown Pyrex baking dish and it serves 2 – 4. Well it serves 2 and there’s usually enough rice left over for me to pick at all the next day. It’s also better to slightly underestimate the amount of water you need for the rice – you can always add more water if need be but it’s a real bugger draining this if you’ve added too much water. (You think that’s bad – remind me to tell you of the night I drained and rinsed a three pound pot of chilli con carne because I’d accidentally overdone the chilli. Yes – I did respice and re-serve the damn stuff and no-one was any the wiser)

Spices. I find it easier to measure out the spices before I begin (which is probably what proper cooks do anyway). Otherwise I completely forget what I’ve added and what I haven’t. So put the turmeric, chilli, pepper, cumin (seed and ground) into a dish or cup before you start making this.

Meat We had this made with chicken legs in India and it was gorgeous but, it also works well with belly pork (either left in strips or diced) stewing steak (really good but remember that the meat will need an extra hour or so to cook before you add the rice), turkey pieces and spare ribs. It would also be lovely with prawns and fish.

As a guideline on the meat – this recipe is good for up to four chicken legs, 4-6 strips of belly pork, 500g of turkey pieces and the same for the stewing steak. If you’re using spare ribs then 2 large spare ribs is about right. If you’re using more meat/rice or feeding more people then increase the spices accordingly or to taste.

You can also make this as a vegetarian meal by omitting the meat and adding vegetables. Cauliflower works well with this, as do peas. Spinach and chard stirred in during the final 5 minutes of cooking are good too.

Also, re temperatures. I have no idea what temperature this should be cooked at or how this random temperature might equate to gas mark whatever, Fahrenheit or Celsius. I cook this at 180 but that’s because I cook everything at 180 (except bread which I bake at 220). Basically my philosophy when using an oven is once you find the temperature you’re comfortable cooking at then stick to it and alter the cooking times accordingly. It will turn out just fine.

Ingredients
Meat (of some sort)

Rice (brown basmati) – I’m not really very good with rice. I tend to shake some into the baking dish till it looks about right. Just use your own judgement.

4 tablespoons veg oil - which seems likes loads to me. I usually add enough oil to cover the base of the frying pan and add more if necessary.

4 small potatoes peeled and halved - they say peeled. I say, who has time to peel potatoes? Besides which my mum told me (and she should know) that all of the vitamins are either in the skins or just underneath it and if you peel them then you lose most of the goodness. If you’re fussy I suppose you could wash them first if they look really dirty.

2 onions finely chopped

2 cloves garlic - I usually add an extra 2 or 3 cloves because I love garlic

About a centimetre of chopped ginger root – again I tend to add a bit more.

1 bay leaf - the original recipe doesn’t call for bay but I like it

½ chilli (or half a teaspoon of chilli).

½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon of cumin seed

½ teaspoon cumin (ground)

Couple of cardamons

Peas or other veg.

*2 medium tomatoes (optional)
*2 tablespoons of yoghurt
*2 tablespoons of mint
These are all optional. I never add them but if you want to then add yog to the meat, add the toms when you put it all in the baking dish and stir in the mint at the end.

Stock. Chicken stock is good, but if you don’t have any then just use water. I suppose you could add a stock cube if you have one but if you don’t then don’t worry about it. It will taste lovely anyway.

Method.

Pour yourself a glass of wine, drink it, pour another and put some good music on. It’s a well known fact that if you cook while stressed it will all turn out wrong.

Heat the oil in the frying pan.

Ok. Fry your potatoes until brown, drain and reserve. This can take ages so I normally blast them in the microwave for a couple of minutes before I throw them in the pan (or if I can’t be bothered then I don’t add potatoes). Once they’re brown take out of pan, and put in baking dish.

Turn down heat to medium – low. Fry onions with garlic and ginger until onions are soft. (If you’re reading then it’s perfectly acceptable to add a little water/stock to onions so you don’t have to stand over them making sure they don’t burn. Just keep checking. It should take about 8 minutes for them to soften)

Add the chilli, pepper, turmeric, cumin (both sorts) bay leaf and stir in. Cover and cook for about ten minutes.

Now the original recipe I have (scribbled down in a notebook) says to add the meat and stir till covered. I don’t know about you but trying to stir chicken legs into a frying pan full of onions is almost impossible, the onions fly out of the pan and muck up your hob. So instead, put onions in baking dish, brown off meat in the frying pan and then add to the baking dish.

Add stock, or water. Add enough to cover the meat and onions with about an inch or so over. You can add more with the rice in a bit if it looks like you need to.

Cover (if you don’t have a lid then a piece of grease proof paper or foil works just as well) and put in preheated oven for about 35 -40 minutes. How long you need to cook the meat depends on what meat you’re using. If chicken, then this is about right. If stewing steak then it’s going to need longer – up to 2 hours. Just keep adding stock. Belly pork’s about the same as chicken, turkey pieces need a little less time – prob 30 minutes and fish and prawns will need hardly any time at all.

When the meat’s been in for the right amount of time add the rice and cardamons. There should be just enough stock in the dish to cover the rice by about a centimetre. Cook for a further twenty minutes or so. Basically cook until the rice is cooked and has absorbed all the stock.

If I’m using chicken legs, chops or belly pork (undiced) I usually take the meat out of the dish before I add the rice. That way the meat can brown off in the oven and then you can add to the baking dish just before serving.

Five – ten minutes before the end of cooking add a handful of frozen peas, or stir through some spinach, or both.

Serve.