Flavours of Ramadan: Parda Biryani

With the holy month of Ramadan already started I wanted to make something which is normally served during ramdan and biryani will always be there on the iftar menu!! There are many variants of the biryani but what caught my attention was one called 'parda biryani'. 'Parda' means curtain and this biryani is cooked within a layer of dough, you can call it a very big puff if you want :).

As any menu will be incomplete without a dessert so I tried to give a twist to a very famous dessert called 'Double ka meetha'. It is made out of fried sandwich breads dipped in sugar syrup and served with some rabri. Let's start cooking !!!

Parda Biryani: A different take on the normal dum biryanis that we normally enjoy. I tried to give it a twist of using some of the steps from dum biryani. Turned out nice and I can't have enough of the upper crust.

Ingredients: Lamb or mutton ( 1 inch pieces with bone) - 600 gms; Ginger ( julienne ) - 2 inch ; Garlic cloves - 6; Big cardamom - 2; Black peppercorns - 1 table spoon; Cinnamon stick - 1 inch; Cloves - 6; Cashew nuts ( fried in ghee) - 20; saffron water - as per taste; Green cardamoms - 5; Garam masala - 1 table spoon; Green chillies (slit) - 6; Onion ( thinly sliced) - 1 big; Coriander seeds - 1/2 table spoon; Cumin seeds - 1/2 table spoon; Rice - 1.5 cups; Salt to taste; Ghee - 1 table spoon; Puff pastry sheet - 1

Steps:

i. Wash the rice and let it rest in water for couple of hours.

ii. Put all the dry spices and khade masalae in a pressure cooker along with lamb pieces. Pour 600 mls of water and add salt as per taste.

iii. Let the lamb cook for 4 whistles. Don't open the pressure cooker; let it depressurize naturally.

iv. Strain the cooked lamb and keep the lamb stock for later use.

v. Heat a wide - bottom pan and add ghee to it. Once it melts add the sliced onions and saute them until they are translucent.

vi. After 5 minutes add the lamb pieces and saute them for 2 minutes. Now add half of the stock from step iv.

vii. Mix the lamb pieces and onion well and add some salt if required. Now add the rice into the mixture and mix well.

viii. Add the stock so that it covers the rice and lamb pieces. Let them cook for 8 minutes until they are 80% done. Put aside the mixture to cool.

ix. Now take a bowl and grease the insides. Stick the pastry sheet to the sides and place the 80% cooked biryani.

x. Place the ginger, mint leaves and slit chilies on top. Stretch the sides of dough to close the top. It's a big dumpling filled with rice :D

xi. Pre-heat the oven to 170 degree Celsius.

xii. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and grease it with some oil.

xiii. Bake the dough filled with biryani for 15 minutes.

Serve with some mint raita and onion rings and enjoy!!!

Double-ka-meetha: This is a classic dessert which transforms a simple sandwich bread to a delectable dessert. Let's start with the ingredients.

Ingredients: Brown breads ( without the crust; dry roasted and then fried) - 4 pieces; saffron rabri ( reduce 1 litre of full fat milk with some saffron and 100 gms sugar) - 1 cup; fresh cream - 100 gms; strawberry reserve - 25 gms; bitter orange marmalade - 10 gms; pistachios - 10; 100 ml of sugar syrup

Steps:

i. Use a hand blender to smoothen the rabri.

ii. Dip the fried breads in the sugar syrup for 2 minutes.

iii. Create a circular base of the rabri sauce.

iv. Place one fried bread on the rabri.

v. Spread the strawberry reserve over it and place the other fried bread.

vi. Create a smooth mix of the fresh cream and orange bitter marmalade; place a generous dollop on top.

vii. Garnish the rabri with some pistachios.

Serve with some more rabri on the side and enjoy!!!