Beef Biryani

Ingredients

• 800 g beef, boneless or bone-in, cut into 4 cm cubes
• 1 cup plain yogurt, whisked
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp biryani masala powder
• 1 tbsp salt, plus more for the rice water
• ½ cup cooking oil
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 4 green chillies, slit lengthways
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 500 g long-grain basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 3 l water for boiling the rice
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 1 black cardamom pod
• 5 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
• ½ cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 pinch saffron threads, steeped in 3 tbsp warm milk (or a few drops of yellow food colour)
• 1 tbsp kewra water
• 2 tbsp ghee

Instructions

1. Mix the beef with the yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, turmeric, biryani masala, 1 tbsp salt and the lemon juice. Cover and marinate while you prepare everything else; 1 hour is the minimum, overnight in the fridge gives the most tender meat.
2. Wash the rice in several changes of water until the water runs almost clear, then soak it in fresh water for 30 minutes and drain.
3. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker over medium heat and fry the sliced onions, stirring often, for 15 minutes until deep golden brown. Lift out about half of the onions with a slotted spoon onto a plate and set aside for layering.
4. Add the marinated beef to the onions left in the pot and fry on medium-high heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the meat changes colour and the yogurt has dried into the masala. Add the tomatoes and green chillies and cook for 4 minutes until the tomatoes soften.
5. Close the lid and cook under pressure on medium-low for 35 minutes after the first whistle. Release the pressure fully, open and check that a cube of beef cuts easily with a spoon. If not, cook for another 10 minutes.
6. Add the potatoes to the beef, cover loosely and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes until the potatoes are just tender. Then uncover and cook on high, stirring, until the gravy is thick and clings to the meat with oil rising at the edges. It should not be watery, or the rice will turn soggy.
7. While the beef finishes, bring 3 litres of water to a boil with the bay leaf, green and black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin and 2 tbsp salt. The water should taste pleasantly salty. Add the drained rice and boil for 5–6 minutes until the grains are about 80% cooked: they should snap when pressed and still have a firm white dot in the centre. Drain immediately.
8. Level the beef masala in the bottom of a heavy pot. Spread half the rice over it, scatter with half the mint, coriander and reserved fried onions, then add the remaining rice and herbs. Drizzle the saffron milk, kewra water and ghee over the top and finish with the last of the fried onions.
9. Cover the pot with foil and a tight lid. Cook on high heat for 3 minutes to build steam, then set the pot on a hot tawa, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook on dum for 25 minutes, until the rice is fully tender and fragrant.
10. Turn off the heat and rest the pot, covered, for 5 minutes. Use a wide spoon to lift the biryani from the bottom so the masala streaks through the rice, being careful not to break the grains.

Tips

• Do not rush the onions. Golden-brown onions give the masala its colour and slight sweetness, but burnt ones turn it bitter.
• The beef gravy must be thick before layering. Extra liquid steams into the rice and makes it mushy.
• Stop boiling the rice at 80%. It finishes cooking in the steam, and rice boiled fully will break when mixed.
• If your lid is loose, seal the pot with foil or a strip of dough so the steam stays in.