Topic: Irani Berry Biryani

[tempest63]

I am on a new mission to find the best Irani Berry Biryani. The dish appeared on the Rick Stein series when he visited the famous Parsi Britannia Restaurant in Bombay/Mumbai, it is where the recipe originated, but the proprietor would not share the recipe …it’s secret.

The first recipe I am going to try is the one from the Bawi bride website. She has a little discourse on the origins of the recipe and makes comments on the berries that should be used. The traditional recipe calls for zereshk berries which are quite sour and provide a different flavour from the recommended alternatives such as cranberries which add sweetness to the finished dish.
I will be making the curry for the biryani in a le Creuset cast iron casserole instead of the pressure cooker suggested in the recipe. I will also be finishing the constructed biryani in the oven and not on the stove top. I will let you know how I get on with this recipe but I will also be trying the Brittania Berry Biryani from the Dishoom Cookbook as well as the one from the Parsi: From Persia to Bombay, by Farokh Talati.

Irani Berry Pulao
https://bawibride.com/irani-berry-pulao/

Ingredients

For Kebabs
250 gram mutton mince
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
0.5 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
0.5 tsp garam masala powder
1 onion finely chopped
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
6 slices bread, small size
0.5 bunch of coriander
0.5 bunch of mint
Oil for deep frying

Pulao Gravy
1 large onion finely chopped
3 tomatoes, boiled and pureed
4 tbsp oil
1 inch cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 tbsp Bombay Biryani Masala (Shaan)
1 tsp Parsi dhana-jeera powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
500 gram boneless mutton
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp green chilli and cumin paste
Salt to taste

For Pulao
100 gram fried onions
100 gram zereshk/barberry berries
500 gram basmati rice
0.5 tsp saffron
2 tsp warm milk
Method

For the Kebabs
Soak the bread slices in some water and then drain out the moisture.
Mix all the kebab ingredients together along with the bread slices and let the mixture marinate for an hour
Form small coin sized kebabs and deep fry until they are golden brown

For the Mutton Masala
Marinate the mutton in the ginger garlic and cumin-chilli-garlic paste along with some salt. Set aside for a few hours or preferably in the fridge overnight.
In a pressure cooker heat up the oil. Add in the onions and fry until they go soft. Now add in the cinnamon stick, cloves, salt and all the dry spices and mix well.
Once the aroma of the spices comes, add in the tomato puree as well as the mutton pieces. Mix everything well and just add a little bit of water to ensure the meat doesn't stick (about a cup).
Seal the cooker and cook for 3 whistles and about 20 minutes on slow. Wait for the pressure to release by itself.
If required, dry off any extra moisture from the mutton - you want to end up with a thick chunky gravy.

For the rice
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add in the rice and cook until it is 3/4 done. Strain out the water.
Dry roast the saffron in a separate small pan and add it to the warm milk - stir to get a fragrant light yellow colour. Add this to the rice and lightly toss.

Assembling the Pulao
In a vessel that is more wide than deep, add some oil at the bottom and some of the mutton gravy only.
Top this with rice, then adding mutton, kebabs, fried onions and the zereshk berries.
Repeat this to form at least two layers and top the last layer of rice with more berries as well as finely chopped coriander.
Seal the vessel with foil and then the lid and place the vessel on a hot tava. Allow the rice to cook for a further 15 - 20 mins on medium heat until it is completely done.

[Peripatetic Phil]

An interesting and complex dish — I wish you the very best of luck with it, and every success.
--
** Phil.

[tempest63]

An interesting and complex dish — I wish you the very best of luck with it, and every success.
--
** Phil.

As with the Dhansak recipe I posted Phil, you could spread the preparation and cooking of such a dish over a few days.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Like the sound of this one too  I made a pillau with barberries along these lines a while back.  Having ongoing trouble copying/posting links, but if you search (the forum) for "polow" this should bring it up.  Looks like I heated up the barberries in melted butter.  Heaven knows where I got the recipe from, although chewytikka posted a reply with a link.

Look forward to hearing about your results with the authentic recipes.  Only thing that would put me off is all those slices of bread and eggs in the kebab mix.  I have never really got anywhere with Persian style kebabs.  There is a chap on youtube (Henrys HowTos) who does loads of them.  Tried a couple many years ago but the spicing wasn't really for me.  Anyway, enjoy your cooking; the barberries are lush.

Rob

[tempest63]

Like the sound of this one too  I made a pillau with barberries along these lines a while back.  Having ongoing trouble copying/posting links, but if you search (the forum) for "polow" this should bring it up.  Looks like I heated up the barberries in melted butter.  Heaven knows where I got the recipe from, although chewytikka posted a reply with a link.

Look forward to hearing about your results with the authentic recipes.  Only thing that would put me off is all those slices of bread and eggs in the kebab mix.  I have never really got anywhere with Persian style kebabs.  There is a chap on youtube (Henrys HowTos) who does loads of them.  Tried a couple many years ago but the spicing wasn't really for me.  Anyway, enjoy your cooking; the barberries are lush.

Rob

Thanks KB.
I’ve just returned from a short stay in hospital so won’t be trying anything too adventurous until I recover.


My Crohn’s disease crept up on me and bit me in the arse.

T63

[Peripatetic Phil]

My Crohn’s disease crept up on me and bit me in the arse.

Very sorry to hear that, T63 — I had a good friend who suffered from Crohn's disease, so I know (at 2nd hand) just how debilitating it can be.
--
** Phil.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Glad to hear you are back home T63.  I wish you are speedy recovery.

Rob

[mickdabass]

Hope youre well on the road to recovery now T63

Best Regards

Mick