How to reheat biryani without drying it out
Steam is your friend; the microwave on high is not.
Kacchi and pakki: two ways to make a biryani
Why we put raw meat in the pot, and why it takes so long.
Hyderabad makes biryani in two ways. In pakki biryani the meat is cooked first into a gravy, then layered with half-cooked rice and given a short dum. In kacchi biryani the meat goes in raw, marinated, under raw or barely boiled rice, and everything cooks together in the sealed pot.
Kacchi is harder. The meat must be young and well marinated, usually with raw papaya to soften it. The rice must be par-boiled to exactly the right point, about 70 percent, so that it finishes at the same moment as the meat. Too little and the rice is hard; too much and it turns to mush before the mutton is tender.
The reward is flavour. The meat juices rise through the rice as steam, and every grain tastes of the marinade.
Our ustad seals the deg with a rope of dough, sets it on a strong flame for twenty minutes, then moves it to a gentle fire with coals on the lid. After ninety minutes he taps the lid. When the sound changes, the biryani is ready.
