Biryani, my sous vide way
If Indian food had a singular totemic dish for the entire subcontinent, it would probably be Biryani. Pakistani, North Indian, and southern parts have their own variants that likely had different origin stories but this is Indian rice-with-stuff and it is glorious. Below is my Hyderabad-style-inspired version that seeks to optimize the flavour of each component and incorporates a long sous vide cook for the protein.
Mastering this single dish has mostly driven my love for discovering recipes and attempting to improve them. When average or poor, Biryani is a deeply forgettable dish. However, when you taste an upper quartile example, you will likely remember it for years. My version is an aggregation of those food memories with an attempt to create consistency in something that is a prime example of cooking with feeling. Biryani usually involves raw rice, a korma base sauce, and slow-cooked meat. Naively slow-cooking them all together will give you tough meat or mushy rice. Getting the perfect doneness of the meat alongside the soft yet chewy rice is normally left to skill. Or chance. In truth, commercial north Indian biryani is made with sella basmati, a parboiled long-grain rice that can take a beating and has a minerality that is unique but is ultimately less fragrant than good quality, normal husked and aged raw basmati rice.
I attempt to create consistency by cooking more of the ingredients separately so the final cooking times are more aligned with each other. I have opted out of tomatoes, eggs, and turmeric which some might expect as I don’t believe any of them are necessary though south Indian variants that have a different origin story may opt for some of them.
However, I include all five viable finishing aromatics, whereas only one or two are usually used. Saffron is the most impactful and I strongly suggest all variants use the best quality you can find. The color and the smell are non-negotiable in my world. I have added the second most common, rose water, as I enjoy the scent and it complements the lamb particularly well. You may choose to skip if not using a land animal. The third is pandan leaf extract, locally known as Kewra water, which is commonly cooked alongside rice in many cultures as it complements the flavour very well. As we get more exotic, we hit the unique piney taste of Mastic resin. This is entirely different to the other aromatics and should be used carefully or it could overpower the rest easily. The last is Meetha Attar, a herbal extract that unlike the rest is added to the korma. If you choose to acquire all these ingredients and experiment yourself, you may find a specific mix or ratio you particularly enjoy. Do, however, try to use a couple to add that perfume that a real biryani is prized for.
I have given you two paths through this recipe. One is a simpler approach that uses naturally tender cuts or proteins such as lamb chops, chicken legs, fish, or prawns, which can entirely cook with the finishing of the rice. The other relies on a more traditional collagen-heavy cut like lamb shank or shoulder that needs a separate long, slow cook first.
Choose your own adventure.
Wash the basmati rice until the water runs clear. Soak for 30 minutes up to 3 hours, drain. Bring the water and whole chillies (if using) to a full boil with the lime, then drop the rice into the lightly acidified water until it is 80% cooked. A single grain mashed should still have a firm core. Drain immediately, dunk in cold water, then drain again. The goal is to bring it down to warm quickly so the grains do not shorten as they lose moisture through steam. Remove the whole lime and chillies. Mix gently with the ghee until it melts through. At this point, it can be cooled in the fridge uncovered overnight to build resistant starch or used immediately.
Dissolve the salt in some of the water and add to the rice so the grains season evenly during layering. Ensure the total weight of rice, ghee, salt and water is correct.
Combine your tender cut with Kashmiri chilli, lime juice, yogurt, and salt. Smoke with a hot coal and cloves or allspice for 30 minutes to perfume the fats.
Season the boneless leg with salt, mustard oil, and nihari spice. Bag and sous vide at 70 °C for 12 hours (64 °C if you prefer a less shreddable texture).
Fry the mixed vegetables in ghee until golden. Reserve 1/2 cup ghee. Blitz the cashews and poppy seeds with a splash of cream or water into a smooth nut paste.
Soak the dry morels in hot water until pliable, then split and add to the mixed vegetables.
Boil the onions, garlic, and ginger with 1/2 cup water until tender, then blend smooth into an onion purée.
Flash fry the cardamoms, cinnamon, pepper, star anise, cloves, bay leaf, and ghee for 1 minute until aromatic.
Add the blended onion purée to the spices and cook until fragrant and just beginning to dry without taking on colour.
Stir in yogurt, salt, white pepper, ground lichen, rose petals, and dried chillies. Cook until the oil separates and the mixture reduces to a thick korma base.
Fold in the cashew nut paste, mixed vegetables, and green raisins. Cook a further few minutes to emulsify.
Bloom saffron in hot milk with rose water until deeply coloured.
Grind the mastic to a powder and mix with hot water to form a scented liquid.
Layer par-cooked rice, the korma sauce, raw smoked chops, and remaining rice. Finish with saffron milk, fried onions, green chilli, mint, and ginger strips. Cook sealed under 1 bar pressure for 15–20 minutes, then rest before serving.