Keema Biryani

Hello hello all my wonderful readers! How’s everyone doing? Good? Great? Wonderful? Oh, I do very much hope so! I’ve been doing well! Just spending each day at home cooking up a storm. Well, not a storm, but perhaps a gusty, blustery day. The kitchen is always intact when I’m done using it, just wanted to make that clear.

So, as you may have gathered today’s recipe is Keema Biryani. If you don’t know Biryani is a mixed rice dish that combines a long-grain fragrant rice along with a curry of your choosing. For me, the most typical Biryani is Chicken Biryani because that’s just what I have grown up seeing and eating in my home. However, growing up around other Pakistani and Indian families I quickly learned that Biryani is made in countless different ways with all sorts of curry bases. You can use beef, vegetables, shrimp (oh is that your shrimp biryani recipe, Sana? Yes, yes it is), mutton, and like I will be showing you all today, ground meat. The list goes on. So never be discourages about making biryani! Make do with what you have and I’m sure it will be delicious. Now, let’s get started with the recipe, shall we?

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 6-7 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 small onions, diced
• 2 teaspoons Pakistani/Indian red chili powder
• 2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder (milder)
• 2.5 tablespoons cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 4 green chilies, chopped
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger slivers
• 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
• 4 cups dried basmati rice
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, skillet-toasted (optional)
• Salt, to taste (for both keema and rice)
• 1/4 teaspoon yellow or orange food coloring powder (mixed with teaspoon water)
• 2-3 drops kewra essence/water (optional)

Directions:

I realized while I was making the Ingredients list that that is just a doozy of a list. But I suppose Biryani is just a doozy of a food, worth every single item on the list. I have always said, starting right now, “Biryani don’t come easy, folks.” But despite the labor it is an extremely rewarding dish, so let’s hop into it. First thing to prepare is the keema (or spicy ground beef). This can seem like a daunting task but trust me, it’s not bad at all. Just make sure you have everything prepped or at hand so you aren’t scrambling around while cooking.

You’re going to want to start by dicing the onions. Get the tears out of the way in the beginning. They won’t be needed later! I will forever cry while cutting onions, by the way. Side note: I have never seen my mother’s eyes so much as water cutting onions…I do not understand how she has build up this tolerance. And what’s with cooks on TV never crying while cutting onions?! That’s just wack but it could also be the magic of TV editing. People say if you use a sharp knife you won’t cry but I use the same knife as my mom so this argument is moot as far as I’m concerned! Okay, sorry about that tangent…Stay strong with your onions, everybody.

Once your onions are diced in a large karahi or wok-like pan soften them in the oil. Let it just cook down on a medium heat. Keep monitoring and stirring so the onions don’t cook too quickly and burn. It should take 5-10 minutes for all the onions to cook down. Once they’ve sufficiently cooked down add in the minced garlic, ground beef, all the powdered spices and salt. Start with a teaspoon or two and continue to taste while you cook.

The nice thing about cooking keema is you can add in most of the ingredients at this point and give it a nice stir. You may have noticed that I put some spices in before the keema and some on top that means nothing. You can put it in whatever order you want. You are your own keema boss, embrace the title. Cook the keema on a medium heat mixing and stirring constantly to make sure the spices and onions are throughout. Once the meat is halfway cooked (about 5 minutes) you can add in the green chilies, diced tomato, and tomato paste.

Mix everything thoroughly and then on medium-low heat just cover and allow it to continue cooking fully. This will take about 15-20 minutes so in the meantime, you may turn your attention to the rice. Wash your rice thoroughly until the water becomes mostly clear when you drain. In a large pot add your rice and enough water to cover an inch over the rice. Add in the cumin seeds (optional), a drizzle of oil and about a tablespoon of salt in to the water. Give this a quick mix and put it on a medium-high heat to bring to a boil.

While you wait for the rice to cook you can give your keema quick stir and then cover it. You want to semi-cook your rice so in about 8-10 minutes check on it. If you taste a grain it shouldn’t be completely soft but a tad “al-dente”. Yes, I used the italian pasta term. The rice should have a bit of a bite.

When the rice reaches this point you should drain it in a large colander. Hold on to the pot you made the rice in because you will use it to put together the biryani. Set the rice aside and turn your attention back to the keema. The keema is most likely done at this point so you can add in the cilantro and ginger slivers and the last step is to bhun (bh-oon) this. What is “bhun-ing” you may be asking. Well, it took me a long time to figure out how to describe this in English. It’s basically sauteing the meat on a high heat quickly while constantly mixing. What is the purpose of this you may ask?

Well, I’m not sure. Hahaha, okay but for real, I’m not positive…it’s just what my mom does but I have some guesses that seem to make sense. One reason is to quickly dry out the keema/any curry because you don’t want to add extra liquid to your rice. Secondly, my mom always told me it’s to cook out the natural gamy flavor of any meat. Pakistani’s really like their meat thoroughly cooked. I, personally, am unaware of this gamy flavor at times, but at other times I’m like yeah, I could cook this a little longer. I chalk it up to different flavor palates. But you get to decide how long to bhun or sauté. It should be on high heat with you constantly stirring. Do it enough to at least remove any remaining liquids and anything beyond is to your own taste. At this point you should also taste for salt. Add more if needed.

Once you are done with the keema you are ready for the almost last step, layering the biryani! In the rice pot I told you not to put away start with putting down a thin layer of keema. On top of this add a layer of your rice. Then guess what? That’s right! You layer some keema! And then…some RICE! You get the picture. continue layering rice and keema until you are left with rice on top. I had enough to do three layers of each, but it will most likely depend on your pot. In a little container mix together the food color with water and add in the drops of kewra essence. Give this a swirl and then drop this onto the top of the biryani.

Cover the Biryani and put it dum. What is dum, you ask? You’re asking so many great questions today. When you put biryani on dum you allow it cook/steam on a low heat. There are different ways to do this, you can do it on the stove or in an oven. Since I was just make a small batch for home I did it on the stove. On a low heat you want to put the pot into a large pan (that it fits into) so it is even less directly on the heat. Cover this with the lid and allow it to cook on “dum” for anywhere between 10-20 minutes. A few things will happen during this time. The residual heat/liquids from the rice will cook the rice completely and the flavors of the curry will start to infuse with the rice around it. All very delicious things. So worth the wait.

Another fun thing that happens during dum is your entire house smelling like biryani. Definitely a perk and also a scent I would like to bottle and sell.

Now, after all that waiting…it’s time to serve it up! Give a light mix with a large spoon. We have these specific flat rice paddles we use but any wide, flat spoon will do. Mix it enough to have an even distribution of meat and keema, but do it gently so as not to break the rice grains.

Let me tell you this is just absolutely delicious on it’s own but if you want you can definitely serve it with some raita or plain yogurt on the side (it will only enhance the flavor). Let me know if you make this or any biryani! I would love to hear about your experience.

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