Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice (soaked for 1 hour)
4 cups water for cooking the rice
Two strands of mace (javitri)
5 green cardamoms ( chhoti elaichi)
1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
6 cloves (laung)
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. Salt
400 grams raw unripe chopped jackfruit ( Big Chunks) kept in bowl of warm water
1 cup yogurt
½ Tbsp. turmeric
½ Tbsp. red chili powder
a small piece of stone flower (patthar ke phool) Optional
1 Tbsp. shah jeera (caraway seeds)
2 medium to large onions, thinly sliced
1 medium tomato, chopped
1.5 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
1.5 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
5 tablespoon clarified butter (Desi ghee)
1 inch ginger (Chopped)
4 garlic cloves (chopped)
1 green chili (crushed)
1.5 to 2 cups water
salt to Taste
1 Tbsp. ghee
pinch of saffron (kesar) soaked in warm milk and kept aside
1/4 Tbsp. rose water
Method:
Boil 4 cups of water in a large pot, drain the rice and then add it to the boiling water.
add all the whole spices (1 string of mace, 2cardamoms, ½ inch cinnamon, 3cloves and 1 bay leaf) , add salt and cook the rice till the grains are 80% cooked. Drain and keep the rice aside.
Now we should start work on jackfruit , remove the seeds from the chopped jackfruit, heat clarified butter in a pot, add all the whole spices ( mace, stone flower, cinnamon, cloves, caraway seeds, cardamoms. saute for a minute. Add the sliced onions and fry them till they begun to get caramelized or golden. When the onions begin to get golden, remove half of the onions and drain them on paper towels. Add crushed ginger, garlic and green chili . Saute for a minute. Now add the Chopped Jackfruit. saute for 2 minutes, add red chili and turmeric powder stir and saute for 7 to 8 minutes, add the beaten yogurt. Stir and add water. add salt and cover the pot with its lid. Simmer the gravy till the jackfruit is cooked and tender. Add water if required to make sure jackfruit is cooked properly. Once cooked add Tomatoes , mint leaves and coriander leaves. Let the gravey simmer til you are ready with layering.
Layering the kathal biryani
Take a Pot (I use my clay pot), spread first layer of the jackfruit gravy, add half of the fried onions, Spread a second layer of rice. Third layer of Jackfruit Gravy some fried onion and on top of it add all the rice in this layer. Sprinkle the saffron flavored milk along with the saffron threads, rose water, remaining fried onions and fresh chopped mint and dollop of clarified butter to enhance the flavour. Cover the pot with lid and cook on very very low heat (on Dum) for 20-30 minutes . For Dum you must avoid direct contact of pot with the flame/heat, instead you may keep the pot on top of a girdle or in large pan with boiling water. The Kathal Biryani is ready.Serve the kathal biryani with Mirch ka salan or Cucumber Raita.
