Mutton Pilaf

Actually, I simply wanted to do the Hyderabadi Zaffrani pilaf (wanted to try it absolutely since I saw the movie ?Cheeni Kum?, starring Amitabh Bachan and Tabu, a romantic movie destined for a mature audience, as it is about a story of a 64 year old arrogant and self-centered, proud chef romancing a very simple but strong minded cool and pleasant 32 year old girl. I simply enjoyed the movie......Why am I talking about the movie now?

Ok, coming back to the Pilaf?.so, was searching for the recipe and successfully found something interesting here (thanks to chef Sanjay Thumma, by the way!).

As a carnivore and myself accompanied by three meat lovers, I couldn?t resist adding mutton to the recipe, to make it as a mutton and saffron pilaf; All that I can say is that I tried, tasted and loved the succulent combination of the spiced mutton with the unique fragrance of the saffron and this is how I proceeded:

Ingredients:

For the mutton:
1kg mutton
Salt
½ tsp powdered black pepper
1 tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
¼ tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilly powder
½ tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp lime juice
4 tbsp oil

For the Pilaf:
4 cups basmati rice
Whole spices (4 cardamom pods, 4 Bay leaves, 2 cloves, 1 star anise, 2 cinnamon sticks)
½ tsp black cumin
1 ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
Salt
½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp cumin powder
1 cup of finely chopped coriander and mint leaves
2 cups yoghurt
1 tsp pomegranate seeds
Ghee fried almonds, cashew nuts and dry raisins
A handful of fried onions
2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
½ tsp or 1 tsp of saffron strands
4 tbsp Ghee and 4 tbsp oil

Method:

Prepare the mutton by marinating the mutton with all the ingredients under ?For the mutton? except the oil for about half an hour.

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and put the marinated meat and fry until all the meat is covered in the sauce and until oil oozes out.
Pressure cook until 2 whistles.

Remove and separate the meat from the broth and reserve.

Chop the onions lengthwise, very finely.
Wash and drain the rice.

Soak the saffron strands in 4 tbsp of warm milk and crush slightly. Leave it until you get a bright yellow solution.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel, add the ghee and the oil, then the whole spices, when they splutter, add the black cumin, and then the onions. Fry until slightly brown, add the ginger garlic paste, reduce the heat to medium and fry until oil oozes out. Add salt (remember you?ve added already to the mutton, so eventually the broth has been salted too!), the coriander and cumin powders and then the mutton, and fry for a while; add the yoghurt followed by 6 cups of water (I preferred to use half of the mutton broth and half of water). Cook closed until the first boil. As soon as it boils, pour the whole thing in the rice cooker along with the rice and cook until almost done.

Open the rice cooker, add the fried onions, and the nuts and the raisins, the chopped coriander and mint leaves, the pomegranate seeds and the dissolved saffron solution. Cook until done.

This rice didn?t need any Kurma or curries (which would hide the flavor and taste of the pilaf) but goes well with any Raitas.