Lucknowi Biryani
A gently spiced, dum-cooked biryani using the pukki technique of separately cooked meat and rice, a hallmark of Lucknow's refined Awadhi style.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 90 min
- Total
- 135 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Calories
- 480 kcal
Equipment
- •Heavy handi
- •Dough for sealing lid
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- fat
- 18 g
- carbs
- 52 g
- fibre
- 2 g
- protein
- 28 g
- calories
- 480 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Mix the mutton with curd, ginger-garlic paste and half the fried onions. Leave to marinate for 2 hours.
- 2
Put the marinated mutton in a covered pot with a little water. Cook until it is nearly tender.
- 3
Boil the soaked rice with whole garam masala (mixed whole spices) and salt until 70% cooked. Drain the water.
- 4
Spread the cooked mutton across the bottom of a heavy handi (deep cooking pot).
- 5
Spread the partly boiled rice evenly over the mutton layer.
- 6
Scatter the remaining fried onions, mint, saffron milk, kewra water and ghee (clarified butter) on top.
- 7
Seal the handi lid with dough. Cook on low heat using dum (slow steam-cooking) for 20-25 minutes.
- 8
Let the pot rest for 10 minutes. Open the lid and gently mix the layers to serve.
Chef's tips
Sealing the pot fully for dum cooking traps the steam and blends the flavours, so do not open it early. Keep the rice slightly underdone before layering.
Ingredient substitutions
- mutton → chicken, reducing cook time
Storage
Refrigerate up to 2 days in an airtight container.
Reheating
Reheat covered on low flame with a splash of water, or microwave gently.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Boiling the rice for too long before layering, which turns the biryani mushy.
Serving suggestions
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