Nargisi Kofta Biryani
Ingredients for meatball mixture
- Chicken mince 900 grams
- Chopped fresh coriander 2 tbsp
- Chopped green chillies 2-3
- Onion 1 medium sized, finely chopped
- Ginger paste 1 tsp
- Garlic paste 1 tsp
- Salt, or to taste 1.5 tsp
- Red chilli powder 1 tsp
- Coriander powder 1 tsp
- Garam masala 1/2 tsp
- Cumin powder 1 tsp
- Boiled eggs 6
- Bread slices 2 (use if the mixture is thin)
Ingredients for Gravy
- Oil 1/4 cup
- Garlic paste 1 tbsp
- Ginger paste 1 tbsp
- Tomatoes 4, finely chopped
- Salt 2 teaspoons or to taste
- Red chilli powder 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
- Cumin powder 1 tsp
- Coriander powder 1 tbsp
- Whole cumin seeds 1 tsp
- Bay leaf 1
- Whole black pepper 1/2 tsp
- Cardamoms 4
- Cinnamon sticks 2
- Chopped coriander 2tbsp
- Lemon juice 1-2 tsp
- Prunes 8-10 (aaloo Bukhara), soaked in water if they are too dry, mine were not that dry therefore I did not soak them.
- Yoghurt 1/4 cup
- Onions 3, sliced
Ingredients for Rice
- Long grain basmati Rice 3 cups (450 grams)
- Cinnamon 2-3 medium sticks
- Star anise 2-3
- Cloves 6
- Green Cardamom 4
Ingredients for Layers
- Lemons 2-3, sliced
- Mint chopped
- Coriander chopped
- Green chili thickly sliced
- Ginger julienne cut
- Tamarind pulp (imli soaked in water)
- Yellow food color mixed in water
Preparation
Meatball mixture:
- In a chopper, add fresh coriander, green chili, ginger paste, garlic paste and onion to a chopper along with salt, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala and chop as fine as possible.
- Add mince meat or chicken boneless cubes to the chopper and chop finely. Coarse mixture will not stick on the eggs properly.
- If your mixture is thin, you can add 2 slices of bread ground into crumbs.
- Mix everything together, cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
- In the meantime, boil and peel 6 eggs, and chop the onions and tomatoes etc for the gravy.
- Take the mince mixture out of the refrigerator, grease your hands with some cooking oil, place the mixture on your hand and press to flatten it. Now put a boiled egg on it (egg should be room temperature) and wrap the mixture around the egg to cover it. Make sure that there are no cracks in the mince mixture otherwise the nargisi kofta will not hold its shape in oil and will disintegrate.
- Shallow fry the nargisi kofta on high heat just to seal the outer layer. NOTE: Frying on low heat will make the koftas very dry.
- NOTE: The koftas do not need to be cooked at this stage. They just need to be sealed from outside. Take out on a plate and keep aside.
- NOTE: You can shallow fry the koftas a day before a dinner party (dawat) and just refrigerate them and next day proceed with the gravy preparation.
Gravy:
- Heat oil in a pot and add the sliced onions. Fry until golden. Take out and keep aside.
- Add ginger paste and garlic paste to the same pot containing oil. Fry until aromatic. Do not brown them.
- Add chopped tomatoes and stir fry for a minute or two until just a little soft.
- Add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, whole cumin seeds, bay leaf, whole black peppers, cardamoms, cinnamon sticks, chopped coriander, lemon juice and prunes 8-10 (aaloo Bukhara).
- Cover and cook until tomatoes are cooked and the gravy has released the oil.
- Lastly, add yogurt and fried onions (reserve a few teaspoons for the layers). Add a little water and cook on medium to low flame until all the onions are cooked and mixed in the gravy. The gravy should release oil at this stage. It is ready now.
- Add fried nargisi koftas to the gravy along with a cup of water. Cover and cook for 15 minutes until mince is cooked. Do not over cook otherwise the nargisi koftas will be dry. Once ready, evaporate the extra water if any.
Rice
- Wash the rice and soak for 30 minutes at least. No need to soak if you are using a rice cooker.
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add about 1 tbsp salt to it plus a few whole spices (two pieces each of cardamom, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise). Then drain the soaked rice and add it in. Cook until the rice is al-dente.
Layers
- Now let’s start layering, put half of the rice in a big skillet, add some lemon slices, mint, coriander, green chilies, ginger, imli pulp and yellow food color. Remember to sprinkle the reserved fried onions.
- Add nargisi kofta curry on top. Repeat the process for the second layer.
- Cover with a tight lid and place on very low heat for about 10-15 minutes to steam. Once done, open and fluff up the biryani gently.
- Serve with a salad and some cool mint and cucumber salad.
- Enjoy!
Nargisi Kofta Biryani
Ingredients
Ingredients for meatball mixture
- Chicken mince 900 grams
- Chopped fresh coriander 2 tbsp
- Chopped green chillies 2-3
- Onion 1 medium sized, finely chopped
- Ginger paste 1 tsp
- Garlic paste 1 tsp
- Salt, or to taste 1.5 tsp
- Red chilli powder 1 tsp
- Coriander powder 1 tsp
- Garam masala 1/2 tsp
- Cumin powder 1 tsp
- Boiled eggs 6
- Bread slices 2 (use if the mixture is thin)
Ingredients for Gravy
- Oil 1/4 cup
- Garlic paste 1 tbsp
- Ginger paste 1 tbsp
- Tomatoes 4, finely chopped
- Salt 2 teaspoons or to taste
- Red chilli powder 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
- Cumin powder 1 tsp
- Coriander powder 1 tbsp
- Whole cumin seeds 1 tsp
- Bay leaf 1
- Whole black pepper 1/2 tsp
- Cardamoms 4
- Cinnamon sticks 2
- Chopped coriander 2tbsp
- Lemon juice 1-2 tsp
- Prunes 8-10 (aaloo Bukhara), soaked in water if they are too dry, mine were not that dry therefore I did not soak them.
- Yoghurt 1/4 cup
- Onions 3, sliced
Ingredients for Rice
- Long grain basmati Rice 3 cups (450 grams)
- Cinnamon 2-3 medium sticks
- Star anise 2-3
- Cloves 6
- Green Cardamom 4
Ingredients for Layers
- Lemons 2-3, sliced
- Mint chopped
- Coriander chopped
- Green chili thickly sliced
- Ginger julienne cut
- Tamarind pulp (imli soaked in water)
- Yellow food color mixed in water
Instructions
Meatball mixture:
- In a chopper, add fresh coriander, green chili, ginger paste, garlic paste and onion to a chopper along with salt, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala and chop as fine as possible.
- Add mince meat or chicken boneless cubes to the chopper and chop finely. Coarse mixture will not stick on the eggs properly.
- If your mixture is thin, you can add 2 slices of bread ground into crumbs.
- Mix everything together, cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
- In the meantime, boil and peel 6 eggs, and chop the onions and tomatoes etc for the gravy.
- Take the mince mixture out of the refrigerator, grease your hands with some cooking oil, place the mixture on your hand and press to flatten it. Now put a boiled egg on it (egg should be room temperature) and wrap the mixture around the egg to cover it. Make sure that there are no cracks in the mince mixture otherwise the nargisi kofta will not hold its shape in oil and will disintegrate.
- Shallow fry the nargisi kofta on high heat just to seal the outer layer. NOTE: Frying on low heat will make the koftas very dry.
- NOTE: The koftas do not need to be cooked at this stage. They just need to be sealed from outside. Take out on a plate and keep aside.
- NOTE: You can shallow fry the koftas a day before a dinner party (dawat) and just refrigerate them and next day proceed with the gravy preparation.
Gravy Preparation
- Heat oil in a pot and add the sliced onions. Fry until golden. Take out and keep aside.
- Add ginger paste and garlic paste to the same pot containing oil. Fry until aromatic. Do not brown them.
- Add chopped tomatoes and stir fry for a minute or two until just a little soft.
- Add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, whole cumin seeds, bay leaf, whole black peppers, cardamoms, cinnamon sticks, chopped coriander, lemon juice and prunes 8-10 (aaloo Bukhara).
- Cover and cook until tomatoes are cooked and the gravy has released the oil.
- Lastly, add yogurt and fried onions (reserve a few teaspoons for the layers). Add a little water and cook on medium to low flame until all the onions are cooked and mixed in the gravy. The gravy should release oil at this stage. It is ready now.
- Add fried nargisi koftas to the gravy along with a cup of water. Cover and cook for 15 minutes until mince is cooked. Do not over cook otherwise the nargisi koftas will be dry. Once ready, evaporate the extra water if any.
Rice Preparation
- Wash the rice and soak for 30 minutes at least. No need to soak if you are using a rice cooker.
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add about 1 tbsp salt to it plus a few whole spices (two pieces each of cardamom, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise). Then drain the soaked rice and add it in. Cook until the rice is al-dente.
- Layers
- Now let’s start layering, put half of the rice in a big skillet, add some lemon slices, mint, coriander, green chilies, ginger, imli pulp and yellow food color. Remember to sprinkle the reserved fried onions.
- Add nargisi kofta curry on top. Repeat the process for the second layer.
- Cover with a tight lid and place on very low heat for about 10-15 minutes to steam. Once done, open and fluff up the biryani gently.
- Serve with a salad and some cool mint and cucumber salad.
- Enjoy!
