Matka Biryani is a delicious and aromatic biryani that is cooked in a sealed clay pot, which is called a matka. This way of cooking allows all the flavors to cook slowly and mix together deeply which gives Matka Biryani that taste that you get when food is cooked in steam.
🧾 Ingredients
For the Rice:
We need 2 cups of basmati rice.
We also need 4 to 5 cups of water 2 to 3 cloves, 2 green cardamom, 1 bay leaf and salt to taste.
For the Chicken or Meat Marinade:
We need 500 grams of chicken or mutton.
We also need 1 cup of yogurt 2 tablespoons of ginger and garlic paste 1 teaspoon of turmeric 1 to 2 teaspoons of red chili powder 1 teaspoon of garam masala salt to taste, juice of 1 lemon and some fresh coriander and mint leaves.
For the Biryani Layers:
We need 2 onions that are fried until they are golden brown.
We also need 2 tomatoes that are cut into slices, 2 to 3 chilies some saffron that is mixed with warm milk 3 tablespoons of ghee or butter and some fresh herbs like mint and coriander.
🍳 Cooking Process
1. First we prepare the Rice.
We wash the rice. Soak it in water for 20 to 30 minutes.
Then we boil the rice with the spices and salt.
We cook the rice until it is 70 percent done then we drain the water. Set the rice aside.
2. Next we marinate the Meat.
We mix the chicken with yogurt, spices, lemon juice and herbs.
We let the chicken marinate for least 1 hour but it is best if we let it marinate overnight.
3. Then we make the layers in the Matka.
We grease the matka with some ghee.
We add a layer of the meat at the bottom of the matka.
Then we add a layer of rice on top of the meat.
We sprinkle some fried onions, herbs and saffron milk on top of the rice.
We repeat these layers 2 to 3 times.
Finally we put some ghee and herbs on top.
4. After that we seal the matka. Cook the Matka Biryani.
We seal the lid of the matka with some dough to trap the steam.
We cook the Matka Biryani on flame for 30 to 40 minutes.
If we want we can put a pan under the matka to cook it evenly.
🍽️ Serving
We break the seal. Gently mix all the layers of the Matka Biryani.
We serve the Matka Biryani hot with some raita, salad and pickle.
🔥 Tips, for the Best Taste of Matka Biryani
We should use grain basmati rice to make the Matka Biryani.
We should not cook the rice much before making the layers.
We should always cook the Matka Biryani on flame.
We can add a drops of kewra water or rose water to the Matka Biryani to make it smell nice.