Jewels from Avadh (Part 2) - Lucknowi Dum Pukht Biryani

When it comes to Biryani lovers, there are two distinct groups that one comes across, the Hyderabadi biryani and the Lucknowi biryani fans. Somewhere in between there are atleast 20-24 different types of biryani's, with their own fan following, but these 2 types rule the palate with the majority in the sub-continent.
The Lucknowi Biryani can be simply defined as a homogeneous blend of different textures, spices and aromas. The Lucknowi biryani is cooked in stock and not water. The Dum Pukht Biryani is the most popular version of the Lucknowi biryani and this is also the biryani that I prefer. For the best Lucknowi Biryani in the capital, you need to eat at the Dum Pukht restaurant at ITC Maurya Sheraton at Dhaula Kuan.
I had this request from JH (quite a long time back) to post the recipe for Lucknowi Biryani and since I was used to having the authentic one at restaurants, I didn't even realize that I had never ever made this one myself. As I got about asking for the recipe from some of the chefs I was still in touch with from my past life as a hotelier, somewhere deep within I felt if I will ever be able to do justice to the delicate balancing of the aromas. After weeks of procrastination, I finally got down to making this one, with my wife and 2 sons as the judges of whether I had passed the test. The result I must say wasn't that bad. It certainly was no match to what the Quereshi family makes, but my creation was a hit atleast in my family. Moreover, I couldn't resist going for seconds and third helpings till it got over.

Other Biryani's on this site :

Hyderabadi Biryani
Khoja Kachi Biryani
Bohri Biryani


Lucknowi Dum Pukht Biryani


Ingredients:
Chicken, cut into small pieces - 500 gm
Rice (Basmati) - 2 Cups
Ghee - 5 Tblsp
Chicken Stock - 4 Cups
Onions, finely chopped - 1 Cup
Black Cardamom - 4
Green Cardamom - 3
Black peppercorn - 10
Cinnamon - 2"
Cloves - 8
Fennel seeds - 1 Tsp
Bay Leaf - 2
Kewra Essence - 1/2 Tsp
Gulab ittar - 1/4 Tsp
Milk - 1/4 Cup
Saffron - 4-5 strands
Salt - 1 Tsp

For Marination:
Onion, finely chopped - 1/2 Cup
Ginger, finely chopped - 2 Tblsp
Garlic, finely chopped - 2 Tblsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 Tsp
Cinnamon Powder - 1/4 Tsp
Cloves, ground - 1/4 Tsp
Nutmeg powder - 1/4 Tsp
Lime juice - 1/4 Tsp
Yogurt - 1/2 Cup
Salt - 1/4 Tsp

For Garnish:
Onion, thinly sliced and fried in ghee till they are browned - 1 Cup
Almonds, sliced and fried - 1/4 Cup
Cashews, sliced and fried - 1/4 Cup

Method:
1. Boil the stock with the whole spices - Black cardamom, black peppercorn, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds and bay leaf. Let it rest for 20 minutes and then strain.
2. Wash 7 rinse the basmati rice twice in cold water. Soak the basmati rice in water for 30 minutes - 1 hr. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, mix all ingredients for marinade in a processor and make a smooth paste. Add in the chicken pieces and mix well to coat each chicken piece. Let it marinate for upto 5 hours.
4. Heat ghee in a large pan. Add in the rice. Cook for 5-7 minutes or till rice turns opaque white.
5. Crush & add in 2 saffron strands. Add in 4 cups of chicken stock.
6. Bring the rice to a boil, cover and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Switch off the flame and let the rice rest for 10-15 minutes. This will allow the rice to absorb the moisture.
7. Take another heavy bottomed pan and add ghee. Heat. Add in the chopped onions. Saute till onions turn translucent. Add in the marinated chicken and saute till chicken is done and the gravy has almost dried up.
8. Take an earthernware pot (preferably) which has a lid, to start assembling the biryani. Add in ghee and grease the earthenware pot.
9. Lay a layer of rice. Sprinkle some chicken stock. Add in some of the chicken pieces. Repeat this alternate layering of rice and chicken pieces. Finish with a layer of rice on top. Sprinkle the rest of the chicken stock.
10. Warm the milk with cardamom pods. Crush and add the saffron. Add the Kewra and Gulab ittar.
11. Sprinkle on top of the finished biryani layers.
12. Add in the garnishes.
13. Now cover with a lid and seal the vessel by applying a dough made with wheat flour or flour around the lid, all the way around.
14. Preheat an oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place the biryani in the oven. Let the biryani cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
15. Remove, break seal and serve straight from the pot.

Note: Traditionally Lucknowi biryani is served with boondi raita or Burrani raita (raita made by whisking thick yogurt with garlic juice, powdered onion seeds, shahi zeera and black salt) and papads alongwith traditional pickles.
Firni or Kheer goes very well as a dessert course after the lucknowi biryani.

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Jewels from Avadh (Part I) - Guncha-O-Bahar

The very mention of Avadh, brings memories of nawabs, tehzeeb and some delicately spiced, aromatic and tasty cuisine, dum pukht being the most famous. Although these days Avadh is synonymous with Lucknow, the Avadh region comprised of Balrampur (near Nepal border), Barabanki, Gonda, Allahabad, Sitapur, Rae Bareli, Faizabad, Lucknow(the capital) and extended till Unnao. Under the patronage of the nawabs, the cuisine was taken to an entirely new level. Some of the famous culinary delights from the region include the melting galouti kababs, the kakori kababs, Sheermal, Taftan, Tunde mian's famous kababs and ulte tawe ke paranthe. The lucknowi biryani and the Hyderabadi Biryani have long fought a battle for the best there is to offer, with each camp boasting of several million die hard fans.
The vast variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes in the Avadh cuisine are complemented by the rich variety of ingredients used. It is fairly common to be find Kewra (Screwpine essence), Khus and Gulabjal being used in the cooking as it is find abundant use of nuts and other dried fruits like apricots and raisins being used.
The Dum Pukht cuisine, which entails cooking the food in its own steam over a slow fire, is said to have evolved in Avadh and perfected in the kitchens of the nawabs.

Guncha-O-Bahar

Ingredients:
Cauliflower, cut into large florets and washed - 1 Kg
Onions, finely chopped - 1/2 Cup
Turmeric - 1.5 Tsp
Lemon Juice - 2 Tblsp
Malt Vinegar - 6 Tblsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 7 Tblsp
Red Chili Powder - 1.5 Tsp
Almond Paste - 5 Tsp
Tomato Puree - 1 Cup
Yogurt - 1 Cup
Khoya - 120 Gm
Coriander Powder - 1 Tsp
Fennel Powder - 2 Tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 Tsp
Gramflour - 1/3 Cup
Garam Masala - 1/2 Tsp
Saffron - 1 Tsp
Milk - 1 Tblsp
Ghee - 6 Tblsp
Oil - For deep frying
Salt - To Taste

Method:
1. Blanch the cauliflower florets in water with Lemon juice, 1 Tsp turmeric and salt. Drain and refresh under cold running water.
2. Mix 1 tsp red chili powder with ginger garlic paste, salt and malt vinegar. Marinate the blanched cauliflower florets in this mixture for 30 minutes.
3. Mix cumin with the gramflour. Dust the marinated florets with this.
4. Deep fry the dusted cauliflower florets till they turn golden brown. Keep aside.
5. Whisk the yogurt and add in khoya paste, remaining turmeric (1/2 tsp), fennel, coriander powder, red chili powder (1/2 tsp) and salt.
6. Heat ghee in a kadhai. Add in the onions and saute till light brown.
7. Add tomato puree and the almond paste. Fry till the fat leaves the masala.
8. Add in the yogurt mixture. Cook till the gravy achieves a sauce like consistency.
9. Add the garam masala and stir. Take off flame.
10. In a shallow baking dish, arrange the fried florets. Pour the gravy on top.
11. Sprinkle saffron soaked in milk and cover with a silver foil.
12. Cook on Dum in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.
13. Tear the foil on the dining table and serve hot from the baking dish.

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Who Pickled my Mushrooms ???

This blog is slowly becoming a one post a month thing and let me assure everyone that it is not by design. 2008 has been fairly busy with the new arrival, travel, work pressures and family commitments. I just returned from a 7 day trip to Chennai and am still recovering from the Simbly Southern experience. I will write more about it alongwith photographs in my next post.Also, there are some interesting posts that I received from readers to put up on my blog that will soon find a mention in the coming few days.

Continuing my affair with mushrooms, I tried out another dish with the mushrooms, something that you find commonly done with Potatoes. Yes, I tried doing a 'Achari' thing with them and they came out absolutely finger licking. As I was in the process of making the Achari Khumb, the idea of doing a 'Dum' came up. Contrary to opinions and fears, doing a Dum is fairly easy and does not require a rocket science knowledge of culinary arts. Translated to English, Dum means to cook in its own steam. Voila, ensure the pot is sealed, so that the steam does not escape and the food is cooked on a slow fire till its done.
All in all, the dish was fairly easy to make and the best part, it was liked by one and all in the family.

Dum Achari Khumb ( Pickled Mushrooms cooked in their own steam/juices - The Dum Way)

Ingredients
Mushrooms, cleaned and cut into squares - 200 gm
Onions, finely chopped - 1
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 20 gm
Fenugreek Seeds - 5 gm
Nigella Seeds ( Kalonji) - 10 gm
Mustard Seeds - 10 gm
Peppercorns, freshly crushed - 10 gm
Red Chilli Powder - 5 gm
Mustard Oil - 50 ml
Yoghurt - 1/2 cup
Tomato Paste - 1/2 Cup
Salt - To Taste

Method:
1. Heat Oil. Add in the Mustard Seeds. As soon as they crackle, add in the nigella seeds & the fenugreek seeds.
2. Add the Onion paste alongwith the ginger-garlic paste. Cook till they turn translucent.
3. Add in the mushrooms andcook them for 5 minutes.
4. Add in the red chilli powder,salt and peppercorns, followed by the tomato paste. Cook for 3 minutes.
5. Add whisked yoghurt slowly into the already cooking mixture and stir well to mix everything up.
6. Cover and seal the pan. Let it cook on a slow flame for 10 minutes. ideally, put a tawa on the slow flame, and put the sealed pot on top of the tawa. This will prevent the dish from over cooking (read burning) and sticking to the bottom.
7. After 10 minutes, take the pan off the flame and remove the seal. Mix well and serve garnished with ginger juliennes or a sprig of corriander.

Note:
1. Do not cook the fenugreek seeds too much or add too much of fenugreek seeds or they will turn the dish bitter.
2. To seal the pan, make a basic dough and roll it out into a long snake shape. Cover the dish with this dough and press to seal. To read more about the art of Dum cooking read this article. FYI, the guy shown in the article is Chef Irfan . I have had the pleasure or good fortune of working with his father, often regarded as the father of Dum cooking or the person who bought the dum cooking to the masses, Chef Imtiaz Qureshi.
3. If you are feeling extra experimental. try adding some hot coals on top of the sealed dish while it is on the flame.

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