Kathal Dum Biryani | Raw Jackfruit Biryani | Jackfruit Dum Biryani Recipe

I have already posted Kathal Dum Masala and mentioned that I would post few more recipes with the raw Jackfruit and this Kathal Dum Biryani is one recipe which adds to the list of Jackfruit recipes. This is an exotic Biryani recipe which you can try for your sunday special or when you have guests at home,I am sure that they would love it.

Preparing a good traditional Dum biryani needs lot of time and patience,so try it on a leisure day.You can take few short cuts like using a ready garam masala but I would warn you before that nothing beats the taste of the freshly ground spices- or at least you can use Homemade Garam masala for a good Biryani.Also the cleaning process of raw jackfruit is so tedious that I would suggest to get it cleaned much before you start cooking,otherwise you would get exhausted by the time you start cooking.If you have some prior preparations done, preparing the Biryani would not actually take much time.Now off to the recipe.

Check out other Biryani Recipes:

• Baby Potato Biriyani
• Chole Dum Biryani
• Mushroom Biryani 
• Soya-Aval(Poha) Biriyani
• Soya Chunks Biryani
• Vegetable Dum Biriyani-with ready made paste

Kathal Dum Biryani Recipe:

Serves 3-4

Prep time:30 mins | Cooking time: 1 hr | Total time: 1 hr 30 mins

Cuisine:North Indian | Category: Main Course-Biryani

Ingredients:

for Rice:

2 cups Basmati Rice

6-7 cups Water

1 Bay Leaf

1" Cinnamon

3-4 Cloves

1 Mace flower(Javithri)

2 tbsp Ghee

1 tsp Salt

for Kathal gravy:

500 gms Raw tender Jackfruit,cleaned and chopped into 1" thick cubes

1/2 cup frozen Green Peas

3/4 cup beaten Curd

3 Tomatoes

2 Onions

6-8 Garlic cloves

1 1/2" Ginger

1 1/2 tsp Biryani Masala,recipe follows (or Homemade Garam masala)

1 tsp Cumin powder

1 1/2 tsp Coriander powder

1 tsp Red chili powder

Salt to taste

3-4tbsp Oil

Spices to temper for Kathal gravy:

2 Green Cardamoms,slightly crushed

1 Green chili,Slit

1/2" Cinnamon

3-4 Cloves

1/2 tsp Shajeera/Black Cumin seeds

1 Bayleaf

to roast and grind to a powder- Biryani Masala:

2" Cinnamon

4-5 Cloves

1 tsp Coriander seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1 Cardamom

1 tsp grated Nutmeg

other Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped Coriander leaves

1/4 cup chopped Mint leaves
a handful of Raisins

10-12 Cashew nuts

2 tbsp warm Milk

12-15 Saffron strands

2 large Onions,thinly sliced

Oil,to deep fry

2 tbsp Ghee

Method:

prior preparations:

• for Saffron milk: In 2 tbsp warm milk add slightly mashed 12-15 saffron strands and set it aside for 10 mins.
• for Caramelized Onions: Deep fry finely sliced onions in oil until they turn crispy and slightly brownish in color. Drain them onto a paper towel.
• to prepare spice powder: Dry roast all the ingredients mentioned under to roast and grind for biryani masala and grind to a fine powder.
• to fry Cashewnuts: Heat 2 tsp ghee in a pan and add whole cashew nuts and fry them until they turn light brown in color and remove them and keep aside.

to prepare rice:

• Wash and soak basmati rice for 15 mins.
• In a large pot bring water to a boil add bay leaf,cinnamon,mace and cloves,ghee,salt and soaked rice and cook until the rice is 3/4th cooked. Drain all the water and run cold water through the rice to stop any further cooking.

to prepare Kathal gravy:

• Grind ginger,garlic and onions to a fine paste and remove the mixture and keep it aside.In the same mixer grind the tomatoes to a fine puree and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a pressure cooker and crackle shajeera and add all the spices - bayleaf, cinnamon,cardamom, cloves and green chilli and fry them for a minute.
• Add the ground puree of ginger-garlic-onion paste and fry it until the raw smell goes away.
• Now add tomato puree and fry until the oil leaves the edges.
• Add all the masalas - red chili powder,coriander powder, cumin powder, 1 tsp biryani masala or garam masala and salt and fry well for a couple of minutes.
• Now add the raw jackfruit pieces and frozen peas and fry for 3-4 mins and add 1-1.5 cups of water and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
• Once the pressure drops mix the nicely beaten curd into the gravy and boil it on low flame for 8-10 mins by stirring it continuously.Keep the gravy slightly thick.

Putting the Kathal biryani together:

• Divide the cooked rice into 3 equal parts and the Chole gravy into 2 equal parts.
• Take a heavy bottom pan (I used heavy steel here) and apply generous amount of oil/ghee at the bottom of the pan and start the layering process in the following way.

1. a layer of thinly sliced onions(optional,I added it as I did not deep fry many onions for the other layers)
2. Spread one layer of kathal gravy on the onions(if using) or at the bottom.

• Spread one layer of Rice.
• Sprinkle one half of the caramelized onions,1/4 tsp of freshly ground Biryani Masala, half of Saffron Milk,few raisins, 2 tbsp of Coriander leaves and 2 tbsp of Mint leaves.

• Spread one more layer of Rice.
• Spread the rest of the Kathal Gravy.
• Spread the last layer of Rice.
• Top it with the left over caramelized onions, fried cashew nuts, remaining raisins, 1/4 tsp ground biryani masala, saffron Milk and the remaining coriander leaves and mint leaves.

• Then add 2-3 tbsp milk and  2 tbsp of ghee from the top and seal the gaps between the lid  and container with soft chapati dough as shown in the picture or you can even cover it with aluminium foil and cover it with lid and fold the foil carefully and try to seal the gap in between the vessel and the lid. 

• Place this vessel/pot back on a heavy tawa and back on heat and cook on medium flame for 20-30 mins or till it is completely cooked.You can alternatively bake this in oven at 170 deg C for 15-20 mins.
• Break the dough seal with a sharp knife.

Serve it with Onion-tomato raita or Boondi raita with chips/papad/salad.

Notes:

1. How to clean Raw Jackfruit: Spread paper on the platform or on the floor.Apply oil to your palms,knife and chopping board and cut jackfruit into two halves.Then cut each half into small portions and remove the green thick skin part and also the center thick stalk.Cut the remaining portion into 1" or 1/2" cubes and immediately immerse those pieces in a bowl of water.You can add 2 tbsp buttermilk to the water as it helps in retaining the color of the jackfruit pieces.
2. You can even deep fry the kathal pieces before adding to the gravy.
3. You can follow the same procedure to prepare mixed vegetable biryani by using all mixed vegetables, you can even deep fry the vegetables if you want it more rich.
4. You can add potatoes to the kathal gravy if you like it.
5. Use good quality basmati rice for a delicious biryani as the flavor adds to the taste.
6. I used minimal spices while boiling the rice, you can use more spices like peppercorns,star anise along with the spices I used.
7. I highly recommend to use deep fried onions as it gives a nice taste to biryani. Here I used deep fried onions just for the top layer and hence I used sauteed onions as the first layer.
8. You can use Garam masala instead of the freshly ground masala mentioned in the recipe.

Technorati Tags: kathal biryani, raw jackfruit biryani ,kathal dum biryani, jackfruit dum biryani, dum biryani, how to prepare dum biryani, veg biryani recipes, north indian recipes, biryani recipes