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Biryani love
By Ann | October 8, 2008
These troubling times call for comfort food, plain and simple. As the world financial markets crash, I wouldn’t be surprised if mac-and-cheese and mashed potato purveyors experienced a sudden spike in business. And so, seeking shelter in a soothing dish of steamy, starchy saltiness, I prepared Mark Bittman’s “biryani” from his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. True, you could say that this classic pilaf-style Indian dish, is far from familiar. But with its warm spices and golden hue, a plate of this is like basking in balmy sunshine.
You start with some butter (if you’re really in need of comfort) or light oil, heated in a wide, deep skillet. Add your spices: 1 cinnamon stick, 3-4 whole cloves, 6 cardamom pods (though I didn’t have any on hand so I skipped them), 1 tsp turmeric and stir until fragrant. Then saute a chopped onion, a little minced garlic and ginger until soft. Add your basmati rice (1 1/2 cups) and coat with the oil until it’s shiny. Then add your liquid — 1 1/2 cups yogurt mixed with 1 1/2 cups stock. Lower heat until the mixture barely simmers, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
The result is the golden mixture you see above. Mark B. adds cubes of tofu with the liquid (which he says are like paneer cheese, a claim I find hard to swallow), of course you could also add chicken or lamb. Actually, we ate this with some highly spiced cauliflower, which felt suitably abstemious.
Topics: Cooking the Books |
2 Responses to “Biryani love”
Comments
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October 10th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Good call on the spicy cauliflower. I mus agree that Mark B has an interesting take on the texture of paneer.
October 11th, 2008 at 4:19 am
Mallika — Tofu is way mushier than paneer, don’t you think? Though I recently made some fresh cheese that is comparable to paneer — will try it in your paneer mattar soon!