Lucknowi Biryani

If you love authentic Lucknowi or Awadhi cuisine, then you will like this easy Lucknowi Mutton Biryani recipe. Also known as Awadhi Biryani, this Lucknowi mutton biryani recipe will become your favourite. Ready to serve in under an hour, this lucknowi biryani recipe is perfect to make when you have guests arriving. It is made from cashewnut paste, saffron, curd, star anise and mace powder that give it an amazing flavour. In this delightful biryani recipe, the process of marination is very important. The longer you marinate the meat, the better is the taste of the mutton biryani. It is also important to soak the rice in water for sometime before you cook it. This way the rice grains turn out well. In Lucknowi biryani, the meat is cooked on slow flame till it is almost done. While buying the meat for your biryani, you should ensure that the mutton is fresh and the pieces are small. This biryani can also be made using chicken and fish, but it tastes best with goat meat. It is a royal dish of the famous Awadhi Nawabs and is ideally made on special occasions and festivals.

Ingredients

• 1 inches cinnamon stick
• 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 2 star anise
• 3 green cardamom
• 1/2 kilograms mutton
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cup basmati rice
• 10 clove
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon mace powder
• 2 black cardamom
• 3 teaspoon ghee
• 4 tablespoon refined oil
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 large onion

For Marination

• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoon crushed to paste cashews
• 4 teaspoon yoghurt (curd)
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 pinch garam masala powder

Step by Steps

1. Prepare the spice powder & boil the rice

To make the garam masala, dry roast all the whole spices. Once they are roasted, transfer them to a masala grinder and grind them finely. Simultaneously, wash the basmati rice and drain excess water. Boil the rice in double the amount of water and remove from fire and drain till it is half done.

2. Marinate the mutton

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 a lid and put it in the refrigerator for an hour. This process is important to allow the flavour of spices to infuse in the mutton.

3. Fry the onion & stir fry the marinated mutton

Thinly slice the onion and deep fry it in some oil and keep aside. Now, let the meat come to room temperature. Season the meat with salt. Add ghee and oil in the handi. Once it is sufficiently hot, transfer the marinated meat from the bowl to the handi.

4. Prepare saffron milk & layer the rice & meat

Stir and cook the meat for a few minutes on high flame, till it is roasted. Cover with the lid and simmer it for another half an hour. Meanwhile, add saffron to the milk and mix well so that the saffron releases its colour and aroma in the milk. Now layer the mutton with cooked rice and add the saffron milk mixture.

5. Add spices, fried onions, ghee, then cover & cook Lucknowi Mutton Biryani

Add a little salt, garam masala, fried onions and the remaining ghee over it. Add mace powder and mix well. Cover the handi with the lid and weight it down with something heavy. Keep the flame low. Cook for about half an hour. Serve your homemade Lucknowi Mutton Biryani hot with raita or salad of your choice.

Tips

1) Use Good quality Basmati rice, the flavor of any biryani partially comes from the rice used.

2) No tomatoes are used in lucknowi Biryani, that is why curd is used a lot

3) You may add 1 tbsp of lime juice in the chicken, its optional only if you like tangy flavors :)

4) Lucknowis do not use ground masalas, the whole garam masalas used is the secret to the flavors in this dish.