Saturday 10 November 2018

Beary Biryani / Mangalore Beary Style Chicken Biryani / Karnataka Beary Biryani ~ My Biryani Trail


So continues my Biryani Trail, as promised, every week, I shall be here with a Biryani, Pulao or Rice Dish which has swept my taste buds off their feet. Here I am today to fulfil that promise to my readers with an unique Biryani Recipe from the South Indian State of Karnataka. Dear readers let me introduce you all to BEARY BIRYANI a speciality of the BEARY Community who inhabit Dakshina Kannada, a coastal district in Karnataka. The word BEARY means trade or business in the native language of this community.


BEARY CUISINE is mostly influenced by South Indian food & therefore like many a South Indian dishes makes use of curry leaves, fresh coconut, lot's of green chillies etc. If you haven't tasted their distinctive dishes till now, you must try them as they have taste, texture, flavour and aroma indigenous to them which is a real fiesta for your taste buds.

BEARY BIRYANI is one of the most popular dish of the Beary community. It is unlike most Biryanis that you might have tasted so far, having it's own distinctive flavour, aroma, using spices, masalas which is exclusive to the Beary Biryani and also a special cooking technique. A Green Masala (a paste of whole spices, aromatics like ginger etc. and herbs ground together using little water to form a smooth or coarse paste, as desired. Earlier an Indian style mortar and pestle called Sil Batta was used to make the masala.) is used to cook the Chicken in. Also coconut paste is added which cooking the chicken. 

I am sure you are always on the look out for nouvelle Biryani Recipes & I promise you this one the BEARY BIRYANI will take your senses on a taste loaded ride. I have been trying this dish following  numerous recipes from friends in both the real and virtual world, tv shows, books etc. The one recipe which has got unanimous approval from Biryani connoisseurs amongst my friend's and family have been adopted from the recipe of Sarita Bhat which was given to her by her friend Sultana who belongs to the BEARY community. You can get Sarita Bhat's recipe by clicking here --> SULTANA'S BEARY BIRYANI RECIPE 


Most of you Biryani lover's must be eagerly waiting to get your hands on the recipe of this exciting Biryani dish. So without much ado, let's have a look at the ingredients.

Beary Biryani Recipe ~ 

Author ~ Piyali Sekhar Mutha
Serves ~ 4
Cuisine ~ Indian / Karnataka Beary Recipe
Type ~ Main Course / Rice Dish / Biryani
Time ~ 20 mins. preparation + 45 minutes cooking + 30 minutes at least marinating chicken & soaking rice

Ingredients ~

800 ~ 900 Gms. Chicken on the bone, skinned
500 ~ 600 Gms. (Approximately 2 Cups) Basmati Rice, good quality

For the Green Masala ~ 

1 Cup Packed Coriander leaves
1 Cup Packed Mint leaves
10 ~ 12 Cloves Garlic
2 Inch Piece Ginger
7 ~ 9 Green Chillies
1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
2 Tsp Coriander Seeds
1 Tsp Fennel Seeds
4 Green Cardamom
1 Brown Cardamom
1 Inch Cinnamon Stick
2 ~ 3 Petals Javitri / Mace
4 Cloves
1 Tsp Pepper Corn
2 ~ 3 Petals Star Anise

For the White Creamy Paste ~

1 Cup Fresh Coconut, grated
10 ~ 12 Cashew~nut whole
2 Tsp Yogurt

For Marinating the Chicken ~

1 Tsp Turmeric Powder
2 Tsp Salt
Juice of 1 Lemon

For the Chicken Curry ~ 

4 Tbsp Oil or Clarified Butter
2 Large Onions, thinly sliced
Green Masala 
2  Large Tomatoes
Marinated Chicken
White Creamy Paste
Salt to taste if required as chicken is already marinated with salt
4 Eggs, boiled

For Cooking the BIRYANI Rice ~

6 Green Cardamom
1 Small stick Cinnamon
6 Cloves
1 Tsp Pepper Corns
1 Star Anise, whole
2 Tsp Fennel Seeds
2 ~ 3 Tbsp Salt, the water in which you cook the rice should be saline as it will be discarded after cooking.
2 Tbsp Clarified Butter / Ghee

For Layering the Biryani & Garnishing ~

2 Medium Sized Onions, finely sliced, deep fried till crisp & crunchy
12 ~ 15 Cashewnuts (Optional)
Oil to fry the Onions & Cashewnuts
1/2 Cup packed Coriander Leaves
1/2 Cup packed Mint Leaves
2 Tbsp Rose Water( you can decrease this according to your preference)
2 Large Pinch Saffron (optional)
2 Tbsp Ghee / Clarified Butter
2~3 Large Banana leaves

Let's Cook Beary Biryani In Easy Steps ~

STEP ~ 1

* Soak the Basmati Rice Covered with Water  in a bowl after washing thoroughly under running water. Leave it to soak in water for at least 30 minutes.

* Marinate the cleaned Chicken pieces with Lemon Juice, Salt, Turmeric Powder. Leave it to marinate for 30 minutes.

* Boil 4 eggs.

STEP ~ 2

* Take all the ingredients under For the Green Masala in a grinder or food processor or even Sil Batta if you have one. Grind into a coarse paste using a little water if required.

* Take all the ingredients listed under For the Creamy White Paste in a grinder or food processor. Grind to a smooth paste using a little water if needed.


TO MAKE THE CHICKEN CURRY ~

STEP ~ 3

* In a wok take oil. Add sliced onions. Fry them till golden brown.

* Add Green Masala. Cook till oil leaves the sides.

* Add Tomato slices. Cook till tomatoes become mushy.

* Add marinated Chicken pieces. Coat with masala and cook for 2 minutes.

* Add White Masala. Coat Chicken pieces nicely. Cook on high for 2 minutes. 

* Add the boiled eggs. Coat with all the gravy.

* Check for salt & add if required. Simmer and cook till the Chicken is 70% cooked. Set Aside.

TO COOK THE BIRYANI RICE ~

STEP ~ 4

* In a large pan take 8 ~ 10 Cups of Water. 

* Add everything listed under For the Biryani Rice. Bring to a rolling boil.

* Drain all the water and add the rice to the boiling water. Cook till rice is 70% cooked.

* Drain out the water by passing the rice through a netted or mesh colander. Spread the rice immediately on a large plate to stop it from cooking. Since I don't like whole spices in my mouth, I discard everything except whole black peppers while draining the rice and the rest by hand picking.

TO GET THE GARNISHING READY ~

STEP ~ 5

* In a wok take oil. When hot, drop in the sliced onions, fry till crisp & golden brown. Take out the fried onions and put them on a paper kitchen towel to drain out excess oil.

* Fry the cashew nuts till light brown. Transfer to a paper kitchen towel to remove excess oil (optional).

* Take 6 Tbsp water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add saffron. Remove from flame after a minute.

TO LAYER THE BEARY BIRYANI ~

STEP ~ 6

* Take a large pan or pot. Layer the bottom with a piece of Banana leaf.
NOTE ~ If you hold the banana leaf near a low flame then the banana leaf folds without tearing, when you place the banana leaf at the bottom & top of your Biryani pan. Be careful not to hold the leaf too close to the heat as it may burn.

* Coat the banana leaf with 1Tbsp Ghee. Place a layer of rice over the banana leaf. Sprinkle some saffron water & 1 Tbsp Rose Water.

* Next Spoon over the Rice the Chicken Curry and the Eggs. Cover this with 1/2 the mint leaves, coriander leaves, cashew nuts, fried onions.

* Now add the final layer of rice. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp Rosewater, the remaining saffron water, remains mint leaves, coriander leaves, fried onions, fried cashewnuts.

* Cover with Banana Leaves. 

* Seal the pan using Aluminium foil sheets so that no steam can escape and the BEARY BIRYANI cooks in it's own steam, which is called DUM STYLE OF COOKING. Cover with the lid.

* Place a girdle / Tava preferably an iron one. Place the BEARY BIRYANI pot on top of the girdle. Cook on High flame for 10 minutes. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Do not open the seal until it is serving time.

Serve with raita, poppadum, pickle and salan (gravy dish).































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