Published 4 September 2016 ● Last Updated on 30 September 2020
When I first mentioned my intention to cook biryani to a close friend, she squinted her eyes in puzzlement. Me? Cooking complicated stuff? And she was right in her disbelief – I am rather vocal about my lack of patience in cooking. Sure, I can cook. But when I do, it is usually with lots of wine and lots more whine!
But then, I had been gifted a Wonderbag – a fabulous insulated bag that let’s things go on cooking for hours after they are off the stove. A friend spied these being used in camp kitchens while on safari in Africa, and got a bag for herself and me (thanks Imaan!). (You can buy and see more reviews at Amazon.)
At the very least, it is a gorgeous insulator for cooked food. But after seeing its amazing viral videos on Facebook, it wasn’t enough for me to use it just to store hot dishes, I had to give it a try for proper cooking! Honestly, the process is so easy that after trying just 2 recipes, I prefer it for anything requiring long cooking – think kidney beans, all types of meats, even soups. For this post, I am sharing just 2 yummy recipes that are for keeps.
Lamb Curry
This was an obvious choice for me to try first, as it is a tried-and-tested dish we often cook at home. I knew if something went wrong, it would be the bag’s fault and not mine :-). The experiment gave fabulous results, so here is the recipe for you to try:
Serves 4-6 people.
Ingredients
For marination:
– 400 gms Lamb cubes (prefer antibiotic-free, grass-fed)
– 2 cloves garlic – crushed
– 1 small onion, chopped fine
– 1 tsp cumin powder
– 1 tsp coriander powder or 2 tbsp fresh chopped coriander
– 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
– 2 pinches ground black pepper
– 1/2 tsp grated ginger
– Chilli powder or paprika, as per your spice desire!
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/2 tsp turmeric
For cooking:
– Cooking oil
– 1-2 small potatoes, washed and cubed
– 2 small tomatoes, chopped fine
– 1 tbsp balsamic or cider vinegar
– Salt, to taste
– 2-3 cups hot water
For garnishing:
– 3 tbsp chopped coriander
– 1/2 thinly sliced lemon, de-seeded
Method
1. Mix all marination ingredients and rub on the meat. Prick the meat with a fork. Leave 1-2 days in the fridge, or at least a few hours.
2. Heat cooking oil in a heat-retentive pot – such as a heavy pressure cooker, or a a good iron pot. Add the lamb with all the marinade, and brown it. It should take about 5-7 minutes, and the meat will lose some water.
3. Add potatoes, saute for 5 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes and vinegar, add salt to taste. Saute for another 2 minutes.
5. Add hot water to the mix – to reach desired curry thickness.
6. Once the pot is boiling, let it cook for another 5-7 minutes. Then cover with lid, remove from heat.
7. Put in the Wonderbag, well-insulated and tied. Leave for 2-3 hours.
8. Garnish with sliced lemon and chopped coriander.
9. Best served with white rice or wild rice.
Verdict
The slow cooking does wonders for flavors. And the 25/30 minute stove-time does wonders for energy saving! Also awesome – I didn’t need to stand around, checking for over-cooking, bottom burning, or anything. Once all the ingredients reached boiling point in the pot, I could just leave them in the bag and forget about it. What’s not to love about fuss-free cooking?!
Chicken Biryani
Choosing this recipe was me being brave. An authentic Indian Biryani is everyone’s nemesis, especially on the first try! But anyway, since I had faith in the cooker, I decided to just go for it as I have always wished to make Biryani at home and not have to trudge all the way to Bismillah when I craved some. To be honest, my attempt did not pass with flying colors [though it was not the bag’s fault!] – but the recipe below notes my mistakes and how you can avoid them, so do try it out!
Serves 5-6 people.
Ingredients
For marination:
– 1 cup yoghurt
– Handful mint leaves, washed and chopped
– 5 cloves garlic and 1 inch ginger – crushed to a paste
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 tsp turmeric
– 1 tsp chilli powder
– 1 tsp cumin powder
– 1 tsp coriander powder or 2 tbsp fresh chopped coriander
– 2 finely chopped green chilli [optional]
For cooking:
– 350-400 gms chicken pieces (prefer antibiotic-free, grass-fed)
– Ghee (clarified butter), or butter
– Whole spices: 2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds), 2 bayleaves, 1 small cinnamon stick, 2-3 green cardamoms, 2-3 black cardamoms, 3-4 cloves, 2 star anise. (If you don’t have them all, never mind, just use what you have!)
– 1 potato, washed and cubed
– 1.5 cups basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes.
– 2 small onions, washed and chopped thin length-wise
– Salt, to taste
– 1 inch ginger, grated
– 1.5 cups organic chicken stock
– 4 tsp biryani powder
– 1 tsp garam masala
For garnishing:
– 3 tbsp chopped coriander
Method
1. Mix all marination ingredients and rub on the meat. Prick the chicken with a fork. Leave 1-2 days in the fridge, or at least a few hours.
2. Wash the Basmati rice before you prep for cooking, as it should soak for 30 minutes. If you have saffron at hand, remove 2 tbsp of washed rice and separately soak in some milk with 2-3 saffron strands.
3. Heat 4 tbsp ghee in a heat-retentive pot – such as a heavy pressure cooker, or a a good iron pot.
4. Add all the whole spices: jeera, bayleaf, cinnamon, green cardamom, black cardomom, cloves, star anise.
5. Once the spices are aromatic and browned, add onion and saute till golden. Set 2 tbsp onions aside for garnishing.
6. Add ginger, saute for another minute till you smell its fragrance.
7. Add the marinated chicken, saute for 10 minutes. Then add the potato and biryani powder. Saute another 5 minutes.
8. Add the rice as a top layer, no need to mix with the meat.
9. Add chicken stock and salt to taste (keep in mind that the stock also carries its own salt]. Also add the milk-soaked rice, with the milk and saffron. Sprinkle garam masala on top.
6. Once the pot is boiling, let it cook for another 5 minutes. Then cover with lid, remove from heat.
7. Put in the Wonderbag, well-insulated and tied. Leave for 2.5 – 3 hours.
8. Garnish with fried onion (set aside in step 5) and chopped coriander. Best served with yoghurt and pickle.
Verdict
So here’s where I come clean about my mistakes. As a newbie, I made a judgement error about how much stock to put. Biryani should have a water:rice ratio of 1:1. I put in double the stock, so the rice was a little on the mushy side. My second error was not putting enough curry powders. The whole spices are very aromatic, so I misjudged the requirements of adding Biryani powder and garam masala. As a result, the Biryani wasn’t as spicy as my Indian palette desires! [Both errors have been corrected in the recipe above.]
On the bright side – my kids didn’t mind that the rice grains weren’t separated, nor that the chilli quotient was low 🙂 And the meat was so tender that it fell of the bone by the mere mixing into a bowl. We polished the whole thing off (hubby and I generously added pickle of course!). I will definitely be trying (and perfecting) this recipe in the coming months and update on this post!
The best part – it’s easy to cook Biryani when you don’t have to worry about bottom-burning and meat tenderness and layering and all the gazillion things that need to be just right for this dish. Heat it, shut it, forget it – definitely my kind of cooking 🙂 Do let me know if you try this out!
Looking to buy? Available at Amazon for $61 [ex-shipping].
Arti
7 September 2016Gotta try this one!
Mamta
6 September 2016The wonderbag sounds awesome. Perfect for Rajma too I imagine. Just checked Amazon, and it’s in stock too. Thanks for the post.
Anuja Byotra
6 September 2016Thx Mamta – yes I did try Rajma too, and I reckon dal makhni should be awesome! Do let me know how your experience goes!