Kathal Biryani

Method:-
In a muslin cloth, put all the whole spices except shahi jeera & tie the muslin cloth to make a bundle (potli).
– Take a deep pan, add surplus water along with salt, sahi jeera and the masala potli. Let the water come to a rolling boil.
– Now add the soaked rice to the boiling water, give it a stir and cook till rice 70% done(3-4 mins) Once done, drain it through a colander and keep aside. Save the rice water. (Watch the video to understand how to do this correctly)

Method –
– Heat oil in a kadhai(deep pan) and deep fry the sliced onions till golden brown & keep aside.
– Now, in the same oil, fry the kathal and potatoes till golden brown seperately and keep aside.
– In a separate deep & thick bottomed pan, add ghee over a medium heat.
– Now, add all the whole spices and sauté till they are fragrant.
– Add chopped onion and sauté till golden brown.
– Add ginger-garlic paste and stir all together. Cook them till its raw smell disappears.
– Now add green chillies along with tomatoes & cook until tomatoes are soft.
– Meanwhile, whisk the curd to a smooth consistency & add turmeric powder along with coriander powder, red chilli powder and season with salt. Whisk well to combine everything together.
– Put a spoonful mixture of the masala in curd and mix well. (It helps to temper the curd.)
– Now lower the flame, add curd mixture to the pan and mix well. Cook the mixture till oil releases on the sides.
– Add fried kathal along with potatoes and stir well. Cook for another 3-4 mins.
– Add garam masala with chaat masala and mix all together. Let them cook on low flame.

Method:-
– Layer the rice over the kathal mixture. Sprinkle saffron milk on top along the prepared birista, mint, coriander, kewra water, rose water & rice water.
– Cover the pot with aluminium foil and then seal with a tight-fitting lid.
– Cook on high heat for 5 minutes to get the steam accumulated, then lower the flame to lowest and cook for another 15-20 minutes until your kitchen is filled with the aroma of the biryani.
– Once done, take the pot off of the flame and leave it undisturbed for another 10 mins. This helps all the favours to really infuse well together.
– ?When really to serve, use a spatula to dig right in and pull out the biryani from down to up.
– ?Serve hot garnished with some more birista,fresh coriander and mint leaves leaves. Enjoy!