Kolkata Biryani

Kolkata biryani has a distinct style of fragrant rice, meat and potatoes. Salma Khatun’s selected version on Bong Eats makes two spice powders and layers cooked mutton, potatoes and basmati rice with reserved stock, rendered fat, aromatic mixtures and ghee.

Yogurt drains through cheesecloth over a strainer and bowl for the marinade. One spice mixture is roasted in stages, ground and strained; the second, of green cardamom and mace, is ground without roasting and strained. Ginger and garlic are blitzed to a paste. The mutton marinates with the hung yogurt, paste, red chilli and pepper powders, shahi gorom moshla, salt and portions of both prepared spice mixes. Rice is washed and soaked; potatoes are peeled, washed, halved and coated with colour and salt, and onions are sliced.

Half the onion is fried in vegetable oil, cooled on a plate, salted and crumbled into birista. Potatoes fry in the same oil, then cook covered with hot water before removal. Half the remaining oil is taken out; the portion left in the pan receives white ghee and whole spices, followed by the remaining onion, mutton and more of both spice powders. The mutton transfers to a pressure cooker with hot water. After pressure release, selected rendered fat is mixed with separate ghee, the meat is laid on a tray, and the stock is strained and reserved.

Saffron blooms in hot milk and is rubbed between the fingers before colour is added. Warm milk is mixed separately with both spice powders and salt; kewra water, rose water and meetha attar form the essence mixture. Khoya kheer is powdered and alu bukhara weighed out. Rice-cooking water is salted and infused with whole spices held in a cheesecloth-and-twine bag, plus kewra water and ghee.

The haari is greased with part of the layer ghee and receives squeezed lime, stock, masala milk, spices, ghee and alu bukhara. Mutton and potatoes form the next layer, with spice powders, khoya, birista and essence. The rice is cooked, checked and strained, then added in two layers with the reserved fat mixture and remaining powders, milk mixtures, essence and ghee. The lid is sealed with atta dough, leaving a small opening. The vessel heats directly, then finishes on a heated iron tawa and rests before opening.