Biryani
Hello! Come on in! It's so nice of you to join us for dinner today!
What am I making? Pfft. Briyani, of course! It's the most Indian way to express our honour in having you join us for a meal today!
Yes, you can most certainly watch me make it! I see you spying the vegetables I have prepared! I know the more expensive the meat, the more it shows how much we value your presence in our home but I don't eat meat and I don't like cooking it either, so it's going to be vegetarian. Sorry about that! Don't worry, there is no shortage of esteem! The briyani is going to be full of flavour and colour! Look, I'm even adding paneer! I know some people say vegetarian briyani is essentially vegetable pulao but seriously. Who puts yoghurt in pulao? It's just one of those hipster things. Briyani is inclusive! Here, put on an apron, why don't you join in on the fun of cooking it!
We are going to start out by heating some ghee and oil. Of course you can just use oil but ghee brings in the pizzazz. It's what's going to make this smell fantastic, look fantastic, and feel a little fantastic on your fingers too. What? You thought you were going to eat this with a spoon? Friend, your hand adds flavour to the briyani. That's how you have your own unique, individualised briyani experience! Don't worry, you are in the comforts of my home and not a restaurant so no one's going to mock you in your novice attempt in using your fingers to eat. Briyani doesn't judge, my friend!
Okay! Things are nice and hot, here, add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Oh! Almost forgot the bay leaf. Here! Did you know in Tamil, we call these pirinji ilai, probably because of the Persian word pirinj, i.e., apparently the root word of briyani? I find that pretty fascinating! History is all around us, my friend! Alright, spices are starting to roast and smell amazing, here add the onions I have sliced to the pan. CAREFUL! Don't add it from a height, you don't want oil splash back, do you, now? Add it closer to the pan, a little counter-intuitive but lesser damage. There you go! Isn't that better? Now, let's give it some time to brown and caramelise a tad. Mmm. Don't you just LOVE the smell of onions cooking? It makes things so homey and comforting. Look at them, just starting to turn translucent. Look at the reduction! WHAT? No, these are nothing like prawns in heat. Please, don't talk about seafood in my home.
Time for the ginger and garlic paste to go in. Smell that fragrance once the garlic makes contact with heat and that sharp but so faintly sweet aroma of ginger. Mm mm mmmmm. Doesn't it START to smell like briyani already? This is why briyani packs a punch! No, no we are not letting it roast as long as the onions, the garlic will burn. Let's add the tomatoes in now. Here, add a wee bit of salt to help the tomatoes in their process of cooking down. Just a touch! A TOUCH! There we go! Why don't I get you something to drink while we wait for the ingredients to get know each other! Could you so kindly pop in the green chilies I have sliced, please? Thank you! Lime juice? No don't grab that! That's for the dish! I meant, would you like me to pour you some lime juice? To drink?
Ah. Refreshing.
Look! The tomatoes have gone all soft and mushy! Here, throw in some of the chili powder. Yes, of course we are adding chili powder on top of the green chillies. The perfect briyani is spicy but tangy, has fluffy distinct grains but melts in your mouth, fills you up but doesn't leave you in a food coma. Here's the almighty turmeric powder! The cornerstone of Indian cooking! Actually, pretty much our culture. My mum tells me to put turmeric on everything - my cooking, my skin, even my bruises! Thank god, that patent for using turmeric in wound healing was revoked, am I right? What sort of beast sets out to monetise traditional knowledge? Ugh. It's starting to smell amazing in here! Let's add the yoghurt! This is my favourite part, when everything looks so creamy and spicy and tangy! It's kind of like yin and yang. Don't you think? Like the vibrance and the sharp flavours of the spices and vegetables are being balanced out by the seemingly neutral and bland yoghurt. Okay, now we are going to wait for the oil to separate! What kind of yoghurt do I use? Full fat. We don't have time for low fat and non-fat. What if you are vegan? You can use coconut yoghurt? I suppose? The styles of briyani is non exhaustive, my friend! Make it your own! What brand of yoghurt is this? Oh, I don't know, this is homemade. Why are you giving that look? Thousands of Indian women make their own yoghurt at home every day. Look, it's time to add the lime juice! No, not the one you're drinking, come on. It's over there! Lime juice on top of the yoghurt? Yes, I told you the perfect briyani is spicy but tangy! Just give it a stir and throw in all the vegetables. Mmm. Look at that. Potatoes are potato-ing, cauliflowers are cauliflower-ing, carrots are carrot-ing, peas are well, pea-ing and paneer is paneer-ing. Look how colourful!
Where's the briyani spice mix? Um. We don't really need one? Alright, now you can add the salt. Taste it! Go on! Good, right? No, don't start eating it off the pan. Briyani is non-judgemental, but not that non-judgemental. Okay, let's add our pre-soaked rice. And here comes the money maker. Smell that. Is that not just divine? Chopped coriander and mint leaves. So citrusy and refreshing! Could you give everything here a good mix, please? Are you hungry? Because, I sure as hell am! But we are not uncouth so we shall wait for it to cook and let's make THAT happen by pouring this jug of water we have here. Could you be a darling and stir everything again, thank you. Alright, let's close up the pressure cooker, and wait for it to give off 2 whistles.
Yeah, the aroma is pretty fantastic! Let's set up the table while we wait for that! Here's the accompaniments for the briyani, I have some thayir pachadi and salna here. It's a yoghurt onion mixture and a gravy. It's heavenly I promise. Oh! And there's our cue, that our briyani is ready! Let's open this puppy up! Would you look at THAT! That looks amazing, if I can say so myself. Just rice and spice but it all just looks and smells so nice! Look! Look at all the colour from the vegetables and the natural dyes from the turmeric and chili powders. Can you smell that lovely coriander and mint aroma, that sharp spicy fragrance from the spices and chili, that tang from the yoghurt and lime juice that has you salivating, and that faint, faint, underlying sweetness from the onions and ginger? Do you get why there are so many variations of this dish across South and Southeast Asia? Taste it! Spicy, but tangy right? See, can you tell now why briyani is served at weddings, and grand events and for special guests who come over to our place? So rich and memorable from ingredients so simple!
Come on friend, let's tuck in.
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter, "Thendral's Telegraph" here!*
