Method

Marination-

Add the curd (mixed with a spoon), ginger-garlic paste, raw papaya paste, chilli powder, salt, lemon juice, garam masala to the mutton.  Then, let the mutton to marinate for 3 hours.

Making fried onions or Barista-

Earlier, Slice 2 onions very thinly. Take a pan to add oil and fry the onion slices until lightly brown.  Fry in few proportion and not all the onions at a time. All the onion slices frying are dipped in oil.  Keep stirring continuously for a lightly brown appearance. After sometimes, take the fried onions with a slotted spoon. Keep them on a paper-lined plate. The crispy brown fried onion slices are called Barista.

Cooking the mutton-

Heat ghee in a thick-large pan. Add remaining sliced onions and green chillies. Cook, stirring continuously, till onions are light golden brown.  Add ginger paste and garlic paste and mix well. Add marinated mutton and cook on high heat for seven minutes. Add coriander powder, cumin powder and red chilli powderand mix thoroughly. Stir in three cups of water, bring it to a boil, reduce heat and cook covered till mutton is cooked. Tomatoes, salt, garam masala powder and coriander leaves add to it. Cook for 15 minutes on medium heat and  stirring after few minutes. The ghee would be leaving from the spices gravy to the mutton .

Preparing the rice-

In a small bag include cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, javitri, jaiphal, black peppercorn, shahi jeera, star anise and tightly close it (potli). Take 750 ml water to boil in a huge utensil. Add rice, bay leaf, salt and potli to the pan. Cover the utensil with a lid and cook till rice is completed 1/3rd. Drain the water and remove the whole masala potli.

Preparing the saffron-milk-

Take 1/4 cup warm milk in a cup. Add saffron strands in the milk. Rose water and kewra essence add to it. Mix well and keep aside.

Layering the biryani-

Take a large heavy pan with tight fitting lid. Add 2tbsp ghee to the pan. Melt the ghee on low heat. Rotate the pan carefully. The ghee can coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Switch off the heat. Add some layer of cooked rice, then some cooked mutton, sprinkle saffron water, add fried onion slices and ghee. Again add  some layer of rice, then some mutton and contininues like this till completed. Top and bottom layer will be of rice. Sprinkles with chopped pudina and coriander, fried onion and juice of half a lemon. Put the lid on. Seal the pan with flour dough and  then close the lid. Keep the heat to lowest. Cook the Biryani in this ‘Dum’ process for 40 min.  Take a flat tawa then keep the pan on that tawa. After 40 minutes close the heat and let the biryani  for another 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve with raita and salad.

I will be writing this post for the#AtoZChallenge 2017   at  #Blogchatter  , #blogboost