Ingredients:

• 2 cups long-grained rice (Basmati)
• 1/2 kg mutton
• 1 & 1/2 cups yoghurt
• 3 onions – chopped and groud coarsely
• 3 onions – finely sliced and fried golden in 1/2 cup oil
• 1 pod garlic (8-10 flakes) – peeled and ground
• 1 small bunch of fresh coriander leaves – ground to paste
• 1 small bunch of mint leaves – ground to paste
• 10 green chillies – chopped and ground
• Ginger paste of 2.5 cm long ginger
• Ghee, as required, to add while layering a mix of biryani colour and saffron, in a little warm milk

For the Garam Masala

• 8 cloves
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• 6 cardamoms
• Turmeric powder as required
• Chilli powder as required

Method:

To prepare the garam masala:

• Mix together all the ingredients and grind to a powder

To make the biryani:

• Marinate the meat in all the ground masala mixed with the yoghurt for 2-3 hours. Also, add the golden fried onions along with the oil onto the marinade.
• Cook the rice till almost cooked (more than 3/4th cooked) and allow to cool till each grain is separate. Set aside.
• Cook the marinated meat mixture for 15 to 20 minutes. Add water only if meat is still un-cooked and sticking, otherwise cook in yoghurt and water from the masala. Once cooked, allow the mixture to turn brownish (important) with the oil surfacing.
• In a deep-bottomed pan, place alternate layers of rice and meat mixture, adding cold ghee knobs here and there. Drizzle the biryani colour and saffron in warm milk at random.
• Cover the pan with a wet towel, place the lid and allow to cook over a medium heat till well cooked.
• Remove and serve with raita. Enjoy!