Kacchi Biryani
কাচ্চি বিরিয়ানি Kacchi BiryaniSay it: KAH-chee bih-ree-YAH-nee
Kacchi biryani is the pot that anchors a Bangladeshi wedding or Eid meal: diners wait as the seal is broken, then spoon out tender mutton, potatoes and basmati rice perfumed with whole spices. The word kacchi signals that the meat goes into the pot raw, after a yogurt marinade, and cooks by steam beneath rice that is only partly boiled. Dried plums add a tart-sweet note, and the usual partners are borhani and raita.
Kacchi Biryani
কাচ্চি বিরিয়ানি, Kacchi Biryani
Pronounced KAH-chee bih-ree-YAH-nee
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 2 hr 30 min
- Total
- 3 hr 10 min
- Level
- Advanced
Also nut-free and egg-free.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk. Check labels on packaged ingredients.
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
Biryani masala
For the mutton marinade
For the rice and layering
Method
Pound the caraway, both cardamoms, cinnamon, peppercorns, cumin, nutmeg and mace together until you have a coarse spice blend; leave it to one side.
Coat the potatoes in the yellow colouring, then fry them in 1 tbsp oil until they just turn light gold and set them aside.
Put the mutton in a large heavy pot and add the spice blend, ginger, garlic, green chilli paste, turmeric, red chilli powder, garam masala, salt, lemon juice, yogurt, crushed birista, kewra and hot water. Turn everything together, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours minimum, preferably overnight.
Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil with 2 green chillies and a few mint leaves. Tip in the drained soaked rice and cook to roughly 70 per cent done: each grain should still resist the tooth. Drain, then spread the rice on a tray.
Mix ghee, lukewarm water and milk powder, whisking until no lumps remain.
Fold the oil through the marinating mutton. Place the fried potatoes, dried plums and slit green chillies on top of the meat.
Spread the partly cooked rice over the meat, then sprinkle on birista, mint and coriander. Trickle the ghee-milk mixture and the yellow colouring over the surface.
Close the pot with a lid that fits well and run a dough rope around the rim to seal it. Set the pot on a heavy tawa over high heat for 10 minutes to start the steam, then lower the heat as far as it will go and leave it for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Take the pot off the heat and let it stand for 10 minutes before cutting through the seal. Use a gentle lifting motion at the sides to loosen the rice, then serve with the meat and potatoes.
Regional variant: Kacchi biryani with chicken (murgi kacchi biryani)
Swap the mutton for 2 lb (900 g) bone-in chicken. After the first 10 minutes on high heat, cut the low-heat dum to 45 minutes. Keep the marinade and layering as written, but because chicken gives off more liquid, use only 1/4 cup (60 ml) hot water in the marinade.
Cook's notes
- A thick-bottomed pot and a close-fitting lid matter here; the dough ring keeps the steam inside so the uncooked mutton can finish cooking.
- Resist stirring during the dum stage. Only at the end should you lift the rice, preferably with a slotted spoon.
- When the hob runs very hot, slide a heat diffuser beneath the pot so the base does not catch.
Serve with
Serve with borhani (spiced yogurt drink), raita, and a cucumber-onion-tomato salad.
Make ahead and storage
The mutton can sit in its marinade in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before cooking. Any leftover biryani will keep for 2 days in the refrigerator; reheat it covered in a low oven, adding a splash of water.
