Chef Mohammed Shareef's

Dum Pukht Biryani

Ingredients
500 g mutton
250 g basmati rice
25 g brown onions
100 g desi ghee
5 cloves
5 cinnamon sticks
5 bay leaves
5 green cardamoms
1 cup cream
2 cups beaten yogurt
salt to taste
1 tbsp yellow chilli powder
a pinch of mace-cardamom powder
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp rose water
2 tbsp kewra water (screw pine)
a few drops sweet ittar
4 green chillies, slit
a few sprigs mint leaves
a small piece of ginger, julienned
a pinch of royal cumin seeds
2 tsp lemon juice
1 litre water
100 g whole wheat flour dough (for lining the lid)
a few strands saffron

Method
For the mutton
Heat ghee in a copper vessel (lagan) and add the whole spices. When they crackle, add the mutton pieces and sautÈ. Add salt to the mutton pieces.
Add ginger-garlic paste and brown onions and sautÈ again for a while.
Add beaten yogurt and bhunao (sautÈ) till the oil separates. Now put yellow chilli powder and maceñcardamom powder. Add water and cook the mutton.

For the biryani
Wash and soak rice for 10 minutes. Boil water in a pan and add the whole
spices, salt and lemon juice. Add the rice and cook till 2/3 done.
Crush the saffron, dissolve in water and add in the rice.
Layer the cooked mutton with the boiled rice. Add a mixture of ghee and cream. Garnish with mint leaves, ginger juliennes, brown onions and saffron dissolved in water. Line the lid with dough and seal the vessel. Put the vessel on an iron griddle and cook for 15 minutes.