Kofta Biryani

**Waqar Daniel** Thu 12 Jul 2007, 3:41 pm

INGREDIENTS:

500 gms Basmati rice
For the Kofta curry: 1 kg lamb/ beef or chicken mince
3 large onions chopped very fine
2 tbsps garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
2 tbsps garam masala (to make your own, see recipe below)
3 tbsps tomato ketchup
1/2 cup coriander leaves chopped fine
Salt to taste
4 large tomatoes cubed
2 tsps coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 bsp gaam masala
1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
5 tbsps vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil
2 tbsps garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
To garnish: 1 large onion sliced finely
1 tbsp saffron strands
3 tbsps warm milk
3-4 tbsps fresh chopped coriander

PREPARATION:

Wash the rice. Soak it in warm water for 30 minutes. Cook the rice till amost done. Drain remaining water (if any) and keep aside.
Put the minced lamb/ beef/ chicken, 2 of the chopped onions, 2 tbsps garlic paste, 1 tbsp ginger paste, 2 tbsps garam masala, tomato ketchup and coriander leaves in a lage bowl and mix well.
Form the mixture into equal sized balls and keep on a plate.
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the sliced onion in it till crispy and golden. When done, drain and remove from the oil and keep aside on paper towels to garnish biryani later.
In the same oil, add the remaining (finely chopped) onions. Fry till they are light brown then add the ginger and garlic pastes. Fry for a minute. Add all the spices - coriander, cumin, red chilli powder, garam masala, turmeric - and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and mix well. Fry the masala till the oil begins to separate from it.
Add 1 cup of warm water to the masala and season with salt to taste. Gently add the meatballs now. Do not stir for at least the next 5 minutes.
Stir gently so as not to break the meatballs.
Cook uncovered till the meatballs are done. There should not be more than 1 to 1 1/2 cups of gravy left at the end of this stage, so dry it as required.
Soak the saffron strands in 2-3 tbsps of warm milk.
Take a large, deep baking dish/ ovenproof dish (it MUST have its own cover) and grease lightly with cooking oil. Layer the rice and Koftas as follows: rice - Koftas - rice. End with a layer of rice.
Pour the saffron infused milk all over the top of the last layer of rice.
Garnish with the crispy fried onions, chopped corainder leaves. Cover the dish and seal tightly.
Bake in a hot oven for 30 minutes.
Serve hot with a raita and green salad of your choice.