Beef Masala and Basmati rice combined together into delicious Biryani…
When it comes to biryani, I always go with chicken. Bone-in chicken pieces like drumstick or leg-thigh pieces make excellent biryanis. I seldom make mutton or goat biryani as I am not a fan of mutton. I love beef but haven’t tried making biryani with it.
Last week, I had received an email from one my readers asking me to share the recipe for making beef biryani. I had been thinking of making beef biryani for so long, and now the email request inspired me to make up my mind to make beef biryani over the weekend.
Since beef has to be cooked for longer time, I made the beef masala in a pressure cooker. That kind of made the preparation process much easier. Basmati rice was cooked separately in a rice cooker and then combined with the beef masala. One of my favorite ingredients to add in biryani is fried onion, I make homemade fried onions and I say No to store bought ones as they don’t taste any good. Freshly fried onions enhance the flavor of the biryani greatly and it imparts a nice aroma too.
Now, it’s time to brag: This beef biryani tasted phenomenal, much better than chicken biryani or the beef restaurant biryanis . If you are looking for an incredibly tasty beef biryani, I will say you gotta try this recipe.
- Small onions- 5
- Ginger, chopped- 2 inch slice
- Garlic- 4 cloves
- Green chilies- 3
- Whole cardamom- 3
- Whole cloves- 2
- Whole cinnamon- 2 inch slice
- Ghee- 2 tbsp
- Yellow Onions, sliced thin and long- 5
- Bay leaves- 2
- Tomatoes, chopped- 2
- Beef, cubed: bone- in or boneless stew cut- 1 lb or ½ Kg
- Coriander powder- 2 tsp
- Fennel powder- 2 tsp
- Chili powder- 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder- ⅛ tsp
- Ground cumin- ½ tsp
- Garam masala- ¾ tsp
- Cilantro, chopped- 2 handfuls
- Fresh Mint leaves, chopped- 6 leaves
- Water- ½ cup
- Salt- to taste
- Basmati Rice- 2 cups
- Whole cardamom- 3
- Bay leaves- 3
- Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
- Salt- to taste
- Ghee- 1 tbsp
- Water- 2¾ cups (for cooking in rice cooker)
- Oil- enough to fry onions
- Yellow Onions, sliced thin and long- 2
- Ghee- 1½ tbsp
- Roasted Cashew nuts- ¼ cup
- Cilantro, chopped- 2 handfuls
- Mint, chopped- 5 leaves
- In a food processor, coarsely grind the above mentioned ingredients 'to grind' without adding water. Do not make into a paste. Keep aside.
- Cook the basmati rice in a rice cooker. Add all the ingredients mentioned 'for cooking basmati rice' into the bowl of a rice cooker and cook till the rice cooker turns to warm mode. Remove the rice bowl from the cooker and keep aside.
- If cooking the rice in a saucepan, add 4 cups water for 2 cups rice and cook till rice has cooked well and the water has completely absorbed.
- For better taste, fry fresh onions rather than using store bought fried onions. Add enough oil in a hot frying pan, add onions and fry till they turn golden brown in color. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried onions onto a plate lined with kitchen paper towel. Keep aside.
- If you are using cashew nuts, fry ¼ cup cashew nuts in ½ tbsp ghee till they turn golden in color. Keep aside.
- Place a pressure cooker over medium heat.
- Add ghee, let it turn hot.
- Add the ground mixture, saute for 5 minutes.
- Add sliced onions, season with salt and add bay leaves. Saute till onions turn translucent.
- Add tomatoes, cook for a minute.
- Add beef that has been cleaned well. You could use bone- in or boneless stew cut beef.
- Add coriander powder, fennel powder, chili powder, turmeric powder, ground cumin, garam masala and salt. Combine well.
- Add chopped cilantro and mint leaves.
- Add ½ cup water and close the cooker with its lid. Place the whistle and cook over medium heat till 2 whistles or for 20 minutes.
- Remove the cooker from the heat and let the pressure subside completely and then open the lid.
- There will be some gravy in the masala. Place the pressure cooker over hight heat and cook till the gravy in the beef masala has thickened. Do not make the masala too dry, let there be some gravy in the masala as it will be absorbed by the basmati rice while mixing.
- Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Turn the heat down to low heat.
- Add the cooked basmati rice into the beef masala, combine well into the masala.
- Add 1½ tbsp ghee and combine well.
- Garnish with fried onions, roasted cashew nuts, chopped cilantro and mint leaves.
- Give everything a good mix, remove the pressure cooker from the heat. Close with its lid and keep the biryani covered for 20 minutes.
- Serve this delicious biryani on a plate and serve along with raita, pickle, pappadam etc.
