Topic: Chicken Tikka and Mushroom Biryani

[Kashmiri Bob]

Hi Phil,

perhaps this varies from region to region, country to country. Most places I've tried in the UK (Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Sussex, South Wales) tend to serve a vegetable curry sauce to accompany the rice dish. However, I think I once ate one in Manchester (Rusholme) in 1994 which wasn't accompanied by any veg curry. In France, restaurants also tend to serve the biryani without any sauce at all.

Ah yes, the vegetable side curry : very mild, and I always give mine to the wife (I like my biryani dry) so had forgotten about that.  I think I was just confused -- it seemed from the original message that (in some places) there was a sauce that was an integral part of a biryani, and that was what confused me. ** Phil.

Aye, that's the one.  I expect little more than the base gravy in many places.  You can get it in Manchester as well.  I had my first ever dry biryani from a Pakistani cafe type TA/restaurant in Sparkhill recently.  On-the-bone chicken biryani.  Very nice and at ?3.00 including 2 super heavy-weight rotis great value for money.  I'm tempted to go for a biriyani option at the Bangladeshi restaurant I'm going to tomorrow night, but the menu description isn't quite doing it for me:

"A preparation of rice with saffron, almonds, sultana, bay leaves, coconut powder, tomatoes and herbs.  It is served with a vegetable sauce to make a complete dish.  An ideal dish for the inexperienced in oriental cuisine".

Could easily be a winner though, who knows.

Rob 

[PaulP]

Every BIR biryani I've ever had has come with a vegetable curry side dish.

My local TA includes the 2 halves of a boiled egg as garnish and their vegetable side dish is very spicy and quite runny. It is anything but bland and particularly nice with lamb rather than chicken.

I imagine they just take some pre-cooked pilau rice and refry it with some onions, g/g , spice mix and throw in the pre-cooked meat.

Paul

[Kashmiri Bob]

Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi's[/color] -- definitely not over-simplistic!

** Phil.

Crikey!  Just read the recipe Phil.  Looks great.  I've never actually heard of the last 4 ingredients in the Potli ka Masala, and "screwpine water"?  Note the julienned ginger folks!

Rob 

[Peripatetic Phil]

Crikey!  Just read the recipe Phil.  Looks great.  I've never actually heard of the last 4 ingredients in the Potli ka Masala, and "screwpine water"?  Note the julienned ginger folks!

The last three were OK (I was familiar with them : betel nuts make your teeth go bright red and fall out, betel leaf is used to wrap "pan", vetiver root is being used as an aromatic), but the "Pan ki jadi" was a real source of ambiguity and I went so far as to seek the help of the Wellcome Institute to try to be certain, but in the end had to give up, whence the note about the uncertain identification -- I used galangal in mine).  As for screwpine water -- it's just another flavouring/aromatic.
 
** Phil.

[Secret Santa]

I always remember BIR biryanis to be fluffy with separate long tender rice grains with chunks of the meat or veg layered through, and of course the veg curry as a side. In Cardiff they used to come piled quite high on the platter with slices of tomato and hard boiled egg on the top.

Yes, that is how I think of a biryani : sadly the egg and tomato is less commonly seen these days, and as I have noted before, I have only once ever seen a traditional biryani complete with gold leaf -- that was in the Agra, Whitfield Street, in the late 60's.

** Phil.

I totally concur. Slices of egg, cucumber and tomato on top, lovely. Rice grains coated to perfection but not congealed with sauce and (for me at least) a delectable coconut flavour. The accompanying very mild veg curry was astounding too. So simple but damnably tasty. I used to work four on, three off and every off day for lunch I would get chicken biryani.

Many BIR Biryanis these days are nothing more than fried pilau rice...blech! 

[Kashmiri Bob]

Many BIR Biryanis these days are nothing more than fried pilau rice...blech! 

Just done one now, with an egg on top.

Rob 

[Kashmiri Bob]

Crikey!  Just read the recipe Phil.  Looks great.  I've never actually heard of the last 4 ingredients in the Potli ka Masala, and "screwpine water"?  Note the julienned ginger folks!

The last three were OK (I was familiar with them : betel nuts make your teeth go bright red and fall out, betel leaf is used to wrap "pan", vetiver root is being used as an aromatic), but the "Pan ki jadi" was a real source of ambiguity and I went so far as to seek the help of the Wellcome Institute to try to be certain, but in the end had to give up, whence the note about the uncertain identification -- I used galangal in mine).  As for screwpine water -- it's just another flavouring/aromatic.
 
** Phil.

Might give the betal nuts a miss Phil!  Had a look for the screwpine and apparently it's also good for treating gout, bonus.

Rob