Pick and wash basmati rice in plenty of water and soak in three cups of water for half an hour. Scrub and wash mushroom, drain and cut into quarters.
Peel, wash and finely slice onions. Peel, wash and grind ginger, garlic to a fine paste. Clean, wash and finely chop fresh coriander and mint leaves.
Wash tomatoes and make a puree in a blender. Whisk skimmed milk yogurt and keep. Soak saffron in one-fourth cup of warm skimmed milk.
Boil three to four cups of water in a thick-bottomed vessel, add bay leaf, cloves, green cardamoms, black cardamoms, cinnamon, mace and one teaspoon salt. When the water starts boiling rapidly, drain the soaked basmati rice and add.
Cook for eight to ten minutes, stirring frequently or until the rice is three-fourth done. Drain in a colander.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan, add sliced onions and stir-fry over high heat for two to three minutes or until onions turn translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste and cook briefly.
Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, crushed peppercorns, cumin powder and turmeric powder. Stir-fry briefly and add pureed tomatoes.
Continue cooking over high heat for another two to three minutes, stirring continuously or until masala is fairly thick.
Add whisked skimmed milk yogurt, garam masala powder and half the quantity of chopped fresh coriander and mint leaves. Stir well and cook for two minutes more.
Add quartered button mushrooms and salt to taste. Stir-fry over high heat for two to three minutes and remove form heat.
Arrange the cooked rice and mushroom masala in alternate layers in an oven-proof dish (or Biryani handi), sprinkling the chopped fresh coriander and mint leaves, kewra water and the skimmed milk with saffron in between the layers. Ensure that the top most layer is of rice.
Cover the assembled biryani with a tight fitting lid and seal the edges with kneaded atta dough (if required).
Keep the sealed dish on a medium hot tawa and leave for ten to fifteen minutes. You can also place a few burning charcoals on the lid. Alternatively, leave the sealed dish in a pre-heated oven (225o C) for ten to fifteen minutes.
Break the seal open just before serving. |
