Biriyani was a dish originated in Iran and travelled to the Indian subcontinent with the Iranian travellers. In India we have several variants of biriyanis. I grew up in Kolkata (Original Capital of India by the British) and the Calcutta Biriyani in the list of famous Biriyanis and is definitely my favourite one, this style biryani evolved from the Lucknow style when Wajid Ali Shah, the last nawab of Awadh was exiled in 1856 in Kolkata. But he did not forget bringing his personal Chef with him as he was very particular about his food. Due to recession aloo (potato) had been used instead of meat. Later on that has become the specificity of Calcutta Biryani, though meat is also served along with it. In addition, this biryani is much lighter on spices than compared to other Biryani’s.

I thought a little history about this finger licking dish would be a good piece of trivia to brag to your friends about when you next time visit an Indian restaurant.

So let’s take a look at the ingredients we need for this:

3/4^th Kilo Lamb

4 Big Potatoes, half boiled and diced into big chunks

4 cups of basmati rice

3 Table Spoon Garam Masala Powder

2 cups of yogurt

2 Tablespoon Ginger Garlic paste

3 Onions chopped

Couple of cinnamon sticks and cardamom

Few strands of saffron

1 glass of Milk

5 Table spoon of Ghee (Indian Butter)

• Fry the onions till golden in ½ table spoon of ghee and keep it aside in a container
• Use the same ghee to fry the half boiled potatoes
• Marinate the lamb with yogurt, garam masala, salt, ginger garlic paste for atleast a few hours if not overnight.
• Pour this marinated lamb mixture into heated up ghee and let it boil in low temperature, till the lambs are soft and tender.
• Half boil the rice with the cinnamon and cardamom
• Once the lamb is boiled, take a big container and mix the half boiled rice, fried onions, fried potatoes and the boiled lamb together in the rest of the ghee (4 table spoon or more if you like it to be more rich)
• Then add the milk and saffron to it and cover the container and let it cook in very low heat for 30 mins and give it occasional stir.
• Once the rice and potatoes are boiled and the milk has soaked in, your biriyani is ready to be served.

This is a long process I agree but trust me the effort is so worth it because I can promise this is definitely going to be one of the best meals you’ve ever had!