AMBUR/VANIYAMBADI MUTTON BIRIYANI

     Every Biriyani has its own legend to speak about and Ambur/Vaniyambadi Biriyani with its elite pedigree of Arcot Nawab kitchen has wonderful history from the flamboyant past.  The opulence of Ambur Biriyani is that it has been brought forth through generations by fanatic biriyani lovers. Ambur Biriyani has a long attached note of tradition, heritage and cuisine.
     The uniqueness of this Ambur/Vaniyambadi Miutton Biriyani is its orange colour, mildly spiced rice, the soft, succulent and spicy meat, all cooked to perfection. The Ambur/Vaniyambadi Biryani is accompanied with Dhalcha, a sour lentil preparation with few meat pieces, a Brinjal Curry and Pachadi/Raitha, which is a simple accompaniment prepared with sliced Onions, Tomatoes, Green Chillies mixed with Curd/Yogurt. It has a distinctive aroma due to moderate use of Spices and Curd in the dish makes it more light on the stomach.  The speciality of this biriyani is that it has a higher ratio of meat compared to rice.
    The main factors which distinguish Ambur Biriyani from other Biriyanis are that they never use Green Chillies and Ghee in their recipe. Also, they use only Seeraga Samba a small grained fragrant variety of rice instead of Basmati Rice.  The next factor to remember while preparing the dish is to grind Ginger, Garlic and soaked Red Dry Chillies separately.  The Orange Colour of Ambur Biriyani is ubiquitous to the addition of Dry Chillies.  Another secret the cooks follow is that they add a tablespoon of Curd at the initial stage to the hot oil before adding spices. The meat and rice are cooked separately until they are half done. Then both Rice and Lamb Masala are mixed together finally and cooked in a Dhum effect for a perfectly cooked Biriyani with an awesome texture.

Cuisine - Ambur, Vaniyambadi(Tamilnadu, South Indian)
Course - Main
Spice Level  - Medium
Difficulty - Medium
Serves - 3- 4
Author - SM

Preparation Time - 15-20 Minutes
Soaking Time - 20 - 30 Minutes.
Cooking Time - 30 - 45 Minutes

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HOW TO COOK AMBUR / VANIYAMBADI MUTTON BIRIYANI

INGREDIENTS :

For Lamb Masala:

Lamb /Mutton - 1/2 Kg.
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tspn
Ginger Paste - 3 Tbspn
Garlic Paste - 3 Tbspn
Dry Red Chillies - 8-10 Nos.
Onions - 2 Nos.
Tomato - 2 Nos.
Curd / Yogurt - 1 Tbspn
Lemon Juice - 2 to 3 Tspns
Coriander Leaves - a Handful
Mint Leaves - a Handful
Oil - 5-6 Tbspns
Curd/Yogurt - 1/4 Cup
Salt - To Taste

Spices :

Cloves - 9 Nos.
Cinnamon (1") - 5-6 Sticks
Cardamom - 7 Pods
Bay Leaf - 2 Leaves

For Rice :

Jeeraka Samba Rice/Basmati  Rice - 3 Cups
Cloves - 3 Nos.
Cinnamon (1") - 2-3 Sticks
Cardamom - 3 Pods

Water - as required.
Salt - To Taste

METHOD : 

 For Lamb :

• Soak Dry Chillies in hot water for 10 minutes and then grind it into a fine paste adding very little water.
• Grind Ginger and Garlic separately and keep them aside.
• Heat Oil in a pan, once the oil is hot pour in 1 Tablespoon of Curd into it.
• Wait until it stops spluttering, now add all the ingredients mentioned under 'Spices' and fry them on a medium flame until aromatic.
• Sauté finely chopped Onions until it turns translucent.
• Add in the Garlic Paste and sauté it for about 3-4 minutes until fragrant on a medium flame.
• Then add Ginger paste and sauté it for about 3-4 minutes until the raw flavour goes.
• Once the Ginger and Garlic Pastes are sautéed, follow it with Dry Chilli Paste and fry it for few minutes.
• Add Turmeric Powder and give a quick stir.
• Add finely chopped Tomatoes to the above mix and cook them until they turn soft and oil separates from the mix.
• Add Mutton/Lamb pieces along with a dash of salt, Lemon Juice and 1/4 Cup of Curd and mix well (add few pieces of papaya at this stage, if using).
• Sprinkle a handful of Mint and Coriander Leaves.
• Cook Lamb/Mutton pieces in a pressure cooker for about 5 whistles on a high flame and another 5-6 whistle on a low flame.(Adjust the cooking time to suit the tenderness of the meat).
• Wait until the pressure is totally released.

For Rice:

• Rinse the Rice once or twice, moving your fingers through the rice, wash it until the water runs clear.
• Soak the washed rice for about 20 - 30 minutes.
• Cook the Rice in a Vessel big enough to hold both Rice and Water.
• Boil enough Water in a big Vessel.
• Drain the soaked Rice.
• Carefully add the soaked Rice along with a dash of Salt & Spices into the boiling Water.
• Cook until the Rice is half done. (just a boil would be more than enough)
• Switch off the flame.
• Immediately drain the excess water from the cooked rice.

For Ambur/Vaniyambadi Mutton Biriyani:

• Take a heavy bottomed Vessel big enough to hold both Rice and Mutton.
• Add the 1/2 cooked Lamb/Mutton Masala.
• Top it up with half cooked Rice.
• Sprinkle finely chopped Mint & Coriander Leaves. 
• Pour in the Lemon Juice and give a quick stir.
• Cover the Vessel with a lid.
• Cook on a medium flame for about 5-7 Minutes.
• Now it is time to give the Dhum effect for the Mutton Biriyani.

For a Dhum Effect : 

Over a Griddle : 

• Keep a preheated Chapati griddle below the Biriyani Vessel to give a dhum effect.
• Meanwhile, heat a Chapati griddle in a high flame for few minutes or until the griddle is very hot.
• While lowering the flame to cook Mutton Biriyani, keep this preheated Chapati griddle below the vessel with lamb and rice to give a dhum effect.
• Cook this for about 12-15 minutes, then switch off the flame and leave the Biriyani Vessel on the stove top untouched fr fe minutes.
• Remove the lid and gently mix the cooked Ambur Mutton Biriyani with a long ladle.
• Gently fluff up the Rice and Mutton so that the ingredients are well combined. 
• Care should be taken not to break the rice strands.
• Serve Ambur/Vaniyambadi Mutton Biriyani along with Curd-Onion Raitha or any preferred vegetarian or non-vegetarian side dishes.

Baking in an Oven(for Dhum Effect) : 

• Preheat the oven to 450° F/230°C.
• Cover the Biriyani vessel with an Aluminium foil and keep it in the middle rack of the oven.
• Bake the Ambur Mutton Biriyani for about 30 minutes.
• Gently fluff up the Rice and Mutton so that the ingredients are well combined. 
• Care should be taken not to break the rice strands.
• Serve Ambur/Vaniyambadi Mutton Biriyani along with Curd-Onion Raitha or any preferred vegetarian or non-vegetarian side dishes.

NOTES :

• Well seasoned Basmati / Jeerakasamba Rice plays a vital role in the texture of a Biriyani. 
• Soaking the rice helps in getting a perfectly cooked rice.
• Cook the rice with ample of water until 1/2 done in a big Vessel.
• This helps to yield perfectly cooked Rice.
• Adding Curd to the oil is a technique used by expert cooks to eliminate the impurities from the oil.
• Adjust the amount of Dry Red Chillies to suit your spice level. 
• Grind Garlic, Ginger and Red Chillies separately and sauté them in the same order as Garlic, Ginger and Red Chilli Paste.
• Garlic paste needs to be sauteed a little longer than Ginger paste.
• Adding lemon juice is to avoid rice getting sticky.
• The meat available locally takes a long time to cook.  Adjust your cooking time to suit the tenderness of the meat.
• Mix both Rice and Lamb together and cook in a dhum style for perfectly cooked Biriyani. 
• Cooking in Dhum helps the Mutton Biriyani not to get burnt at the bottom of the vessel.

 

A QUICK TIP :

• Use Raw Papaya to tenderize the meat.  It acts as a natural 'MEAT TENDERIZER'.
• Raw papaya contains an enzyme called Papain.  The connective tissue in the meat breaks down when it comes in contact with Papain.
• Papaya is one of the preferred tenderizers for red meats (Lamb, Mutton & Beef).
• Use few pieces of raw papaya while cooking red meats.  This will tenderize the meat, making it more soft and succulent, without changing its taste and flavour.
• Yogurt/Curd, Lime Juice, Vinegar, Soda-bi-carbonate, all have softening and tenderizing effects on Red meat.