Pakhi Biryani

[Suthseaxa]

I have been researching biryanis and I have learnt that there are two types: katchi biryani and pakhi biryani. I have also learnt that, the type of biryanis I have been making, are the katchi type; pre-cooked meat/gravy with rice on top. The real jewel in the biryani crown, the pakhi biryani, involves layering rice on top of marinated raw meat and cooking the whole thing together.

I want to try this, but I am afraid of ruining decent lamb, either by burning it or by it being very tough. Recipes call for marination of lamb in yogurt and spices with oil then cooking with the rice on top for about 20mins. To me, that is nowhere near enough time for lamb and will leave it very tough. Has anyone successfully made one of these? The Indian chefs I've seen make these claim the lamb is tender, but I do wonder if their tender and my tender are different things!

 

[CakePoet]

Do it with chickens instead. I tried lamb and I think it is different way of slaughtering it and hanging it that makes it much more tender in India or they have amur powder. I never get lamb that tender too.

 

[Suthseaxa]

I could well try it with chicken - it seems lamb biryani is the summit I'd like to aim for, but practising with chicken is probably a good idea! I think the acidity of the yogurt probably helps, too. I might use some red cabbage to find out just how acidic my preferred yogurt (Greek Fage) is! Trouble is, my wife hates working for her food. I've tried doing chicken thighs for 20mins or so before and we did have to work for it. But again, perhaps that is how it should be!

 

[dragnlaw]

Was your chicken with bone or without. With bone usually will take a bit longer.

 

[GotGarlic]

It depends on which cut of lamb you're using. Like other four-footed mammals, there are naturally tender parts that cook in a short amount of time and tougher cuts that need longer cooking time.

So for a recipe that cooks for 20 minutes, you need to use some part of the loin or the rib area. Shoulders and shanks need to be braised and will take longer to cook.

 

[Suthseaxa]

Aha, I might see if my butcher can provide any of those cuts. I used shoulder in the past and also diced leg. I suppose they will be move connective tissue-heavy.

 

[CakePoet]

I marinate the chicken overnight, when I do biryanies , it makes for a so much more tender chicken and more flavour.

 

[GotGarlic]

Aha, I might see if my butcher can provide any of those cuts. I used shoulder in the past and also diced leg. I suppose they will be move connective tissue-heavy.

Exactly

 

[Suthseaxa]

I marinate the chicken overnight, when I do biryanies , it makes for a so much more tender chicken and more flavour.

Do you marinate it in yoghurt?

 

[CakePoet]

Yes, I do marinate in yogurt, all recipes I have for biryani states that you should.

 

[Suthseaxa]

I don't notice a lot of difference marinating in yoghurt. I hear it is supposed to tenderise the meat. Perhaps my yoghurt is not acidic enough.

 

[CakePoet]

I notice, it get much tender when I use it. Add some butter milk to your yogurt to make it more acidic.

 

[Suthseaxa]

I've seen that on sale. I also heard you can make a decent attempt of it yourself by mixing a tiny amount of vinegar with regular milk and using the whey from that. I still think I should use leftover red cabbage to test the acidity of the plain yoghurt!Thanks for the tip

 

[CakePoet]

Try the real kind with butter milk, you can also use butter milk to soak chicken for Southern fried chicken or make pancakes.

 

[Suthseaxa]

I realised I got the title of this thread wrong; it should be kacchi biryani! Anyway, I did try it when I was on my own and it worked wonderfully with chicken thighs. Though my wife would probably prefer them de-boned, it was still tender enough to eat easily. I used a vahchef recipe, as he seems to be a bit of a biryani king