Biryani Redux, Methinks...

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We were watching re-runs of Rick Stein's India this afternoon and one of the featured recipes was a wonderful-looking Chicken Biryani, which reminded us of the only Biryani I've ever cooked, just after the first Covid lockdown had eased, and just before I retired from the world of toil. We just couldn't remember where I'd got the recipe for this version of the dish from, and I came to the conclusion that it must have come from the above-pictured book, which I bought over forty years ago. Then I rediscovered the post I wrote in 2020, linked to above, which gives the true origin of this wonderful recipe.

I have to say that the prep was long, the cooking easy but stressful and the result totally amazing, so for those who don't own this book I would suggest getting hold of a copy just for this one alone: "The Curry Guy" by Dan Toombs published by Quadrille. Just be sure to get some good lamb - and lamb it has to be in my book - from your local Halal butcher/Asian supermarket if you can, and ask them to prepare it for a Biryani: they'll leave the chunks bone-in, and cut them to the right size. The bony chunks will have the marrow that will enrich the final dish.

As to the recipe from the book above, I think I might just try it for contrast and see how it compares. One thing about cooking this dish is that, like a soufflé, you can't under any circumstances disturb the bugger during its cooking: it has to be ridden out blind until it's finished, hence the stress of not knowing how forty quid's-worth of meat is going to turn out. It works, and we fed six of us amply for the money, which seems pretty good value at the final analysis. Give it a go: it's not as difficult as it would seem, and the resulting food is sublime... 

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