Many thanks for providing your recipes yet again, CA! I'll be trying this out very soon!

Thanks to both for your thoughts.

The photo of the leftovers doesn't do the plated dish justice as it was just chucked into the container when the rice and sauce were cold. The plated dish looked the business, but the food was just so bland I could hardly believe it.

Of course, I'm making no comment on Dipuraja's original recipe as I used variations on the different components, but I'm happy with my other BIR cooking, so this biryani was something of a disappointment. OK, it was my first ever, but still...

Maybe it's just nostalgia on my part as I haven't actually bought a TA biryani for many years, but my memories (such as they are!) are definitely positive.

Maybe I expected too much from the dish. I started off this thread saying, "I've never found a recipe that "looks" right" and, having thought about it, maybe I should have substituted right with complicated enough. On reflection, many of the recipes on the web seem a bit cheffy, but when you look at recipes such as Abdul Mohed's Chicken/Lamb Biryani, the ingredients list is pretty short and the cooking method is simplicity itself.

I also referred to 3 packets of Laziza Biryani, Bombay Biryani and Sindhi Biryani spice mixes I bought on offer a while ago. Although I haven't actually used them yet, the recipes on the back reflect Abdul's recipe in their simplicity of ingredients and cooking method. And not a sultana in sight!

I now wonder if the apparent lack of biryani recipes on the forum reflect a general disinterest in the dish or whether, in fact, no-one seems to have a decent recipe.

Whatever the answer is, and in the absence of a firm recommendation for a "proven" biryani recipe (whatever that may be!), I think I'm going to try Abdul's version as well as the recipe suggestions from the commercial spice mixes and see how these "simpler" versions compare against my fading memories of a BIR biryani.

After seeing CA's superb photos of his Chicken and Mushroom Biriani (and hoping in vain so far for a recipe to follow), I thought that I had to have a go at this dish. It's something that I've been wanting to try for years, but I've never found a recipe that "looks" right, if you know what I mean.

I based the dish on Dipuraja's Chicken Tikka Biriani recipe. I used Dipuraja's Mushroom Rice recipe which incorporated CA's Pilau Rice. I already had Blade's Chicken Tikka, CA's spice mix powder and CA's base gravy to hand, so they were used in the dish too, rather than making new batches to Dipuraja's specs.

I never took any photos of the cooking process or of the final plated dishes (as my good lady and I were starving!), but I DID take a photo of the leftovers, or tomorrow's lunch as it is destined to be known.



My verdict? It wasn't awful - but it wasn't great either. It was certainly edible, and nearly enjoyable. It had no heat in it at all, but that's only to be expected as Dipuraja's recipes didn't call for any heat and CA's spice mix powder and base gravy are very mild anyway.

But, it was disappointing.

Birianis don't appear to have much of a following on this forum, which is a pity as the dish is a good alternative to the mainstream curries.

All suggestions for improvement are welcome - and if you have a "silver bullet" of a biriani recipe, then I'm all ears!

Thanks SS!

Looks very tasty indeed, CA! I'm with UF here - can you share your recipe with us?

Thanks for putting this up.

Is that methi leaves I see in the pot? Can't see any mention of them in the written recipe. How much do you use?

I made a version of this dish the other night and it was delicious - my good lady wife said so and she's always right!

I say "a version" because I had a quantity of the Zaal red masala sauce handy, so I used that instead of the recipe sauce.

Good tip about the Tandoori paste, CT - I see that Tesco aren't currently stocking Patak's tandoori paste but have Laila instead. I bought a jar but haven't used it yet, so no idea what it's like.

Slightly off-topic - I took a selection of spices and mixes with me on holiday recently including CA's tandoori mix powder because I knew I wouldn't get any where I was going and I wouldn't be able to take any paste with me on the plane. I just mixed the dry spices with a little vegetable oil and let it stand for a while before using it. Seemed to work OK and the grub was up to standard. Pity we couldn't replicate all the Patak's pastes in the kitchen, but I know that's been discussed elsewhere.

Back on-topic - I'll definitely make your Tuk Tuk again, CT, but to spec next time. Looking forward to it, in fact.

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I'm with Stephen here. With the knowledge and borrowed skills gleaned from member's posts here, I'm making the best curries, accompaniments and sundries than I could ever have dreamed of.

I think, since I started off, that I've made 1 middling curry - the rest have been superb (to my mind, anyway! ) and, even though I have to turn the chilli heat down for my family, they agree that my curries are better than the takeaways.

I must admit, I don't quite understand the level of obsession that some people have towards achieving the "perfect" curry - it's never going to happen and it's too subjective across individual tastes anyway. But, in saying that, I'm on a number of other, non-food forums and similar obsessions are evident there. Just a human thing, I expect!

But to those guys who are producing the good food and good ideas on here - keep it up! It's all good!

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