Bhatkali Biryani

Bhatkali biryani originates from the Nawayath Muslim community of Bhatkal town, in coastal Karnataka. It has a distinct taste and flavor compared to other types of Biryani.

Being a bhatkali myself, I proudly present to you the  bhatkali Biryani. Compared to the other types, this particular Biryani does not contain marination of meat nor is yoghurt used in the meat base. Rather it contains use of more amount of onions and tomato. The meat for this can be chicken, mutton, beef, prawns, or fish.

In two sentences, it can be described as making meat qorma and topping it with Biryani rice. In this recipe, I’ll walk you through the Biryani step by step.

Firstly, slice the onions using a fine slicer. (Go for thin slices) In a large pot where you plan to assemble the whole Biryani, heat oil. Add curry leaves, green chillies, and whole garam masalas (optional). Then add all the onions and keep it on a medium flame for two minutes. 

Stir the onions, add salt to taste and close the lid of the pan. At this point of time, keep the flame on very low. Let the onions sweat for around 20 minutes without burning.

The onions will reduce to ¼ the initial amount.

Add the ginger garlic paste , and roughly chopped tomatoes. Keep the flame medium. 

Once the tomatoes go mush, add turmeric and ginger garlic paste. Add all the masala powders. Take care not to burn the masalas.

Cook on very low heat till oil starts separating. The qorma should be very dry. At this point the Biryani qorma is done.

The recipe for mutton/chicken/beef/prawns/fish Biryani up to here is exactly the same. You can prepare different types of gravies also from this basic qorma. I normally prepare the qorma double the amount mentioned in this recipe, and refrigerate the other half. It can be stored for 4-5 days and is easy to quickly make any other gravy.

In this recipe, I will proceed with fish Biryani as it needs to be done with more care. For those of you showing crinkly faces when I say fish, go ahead add mutton, chicken or anything else of your choice.

Fish is an essential part of the bhatkali cuisine. For the Biryani though it’s important to choose the correct type of fish. A steak of fish is always preferred. King fish/ surmai/ madosa/ tuna/salmon or any other steak type fish you prefer can be used.

Once the fish is cleaned well, put it into the prepared qorma. Different types of fish have different strengths but most tend to break easily, so take care not to murder it by stirring it into the qorma like you would do for mutton or chicken.

Leave it to cook from one side for 5 minutes and then slowly turn over and cook the other side for another 5 minutes.

Sprinkle black pepper and add the mint and coriander leaves.

Here your base for the Biryani is prepared. It is now time to prepare the rice.

Long grain basmati is used for making Biryani. Wash the rice and soak it for 30 minutes. In a large pot, boil water with salt and whole garam masala.

When the water comes to a complete boil, add the rice and cook till al dente or firm to the bite. That is three-fourth way cooked. Once the water from the rice is drained, put this rice on top of the prepared qorma.

Add 3-4 tbsp of oil on top of the assemble. Garnish with fried onions, coriander and mint. Close the lid tightly and keep it on dum or very low flame for 10-15 minutes or till the rice steams.

Serve with bhatkali raita or curd.

This recipe serves 3 people. One serving of this recipe provides approximately 746 Calories.

Here is what you’ll need:

For the qorma:

3 slices of fish

2 large onions

1 large tomato

5-6 curry leaves

5 green chillies

2 tsp ginger garlic paste

¼ tsp turmeric powder

3 tbsp oil

Spices:

1 tsp coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)

1 tsp cumin powder (Jeera powder)

½  tsp garam masala

1 tsp curry/chicken powder

1 tsp karahi masala (optional)

½ tsp tandoori powder

½ tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp black pepper

For the rice:

1 ½ cups basmati

3 whole cardamom (Elaichi)

1 cinnamon stick (Dalchini)

3 cloves (Lavang)

Grated mace/jaiphal

Salt

For the garnish:

2 tbsp Fried onions

1 tbsp Mint (Pudina)

1 tbsp coriander leaves (Dhaniya)

3 tbsp oil

Saffron/artificial color (optional)

Method:

1. Clean the fish and keep it ready
2. Wash the rice and soak it for 30 min.
3. Slice the onions, and chop the tomatoes.
4. In a large pan heat oil, add the green chilli, curry leaves and onioms.
5. Once the onions sweat add the tomato, ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder.
6. Add all the powdered spices and cook till the oil separates.
7. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Salt the water and add the whole spices.
8. Only when the water comes to a rolling boil, add the rice and cook al dente.
9. Layer the rice on the fish biryani qorma base, garnish and steam.
10. Serve hot with raita.

Recipe by Zohra Sada