Peel the Potatoes, cut them to halves or quarters and soak it in a bowl of water and add 1tspn saltNote: Potatoes once peeled starts turning black. Ensure to immediately soak it in water. I prefer soaking it in Salt water so that by the time the Potatoes are ready to use, it is nicely coated with some salt. It enhances it’s taste Soak the Mint leaves and Fresh Coriander in a bowl of room temperature water and keep it asideNote: Soaking any leaves and herbs, separates all the impurities and it becomes easier to wash the leaves In a Vessel, heat the Oil and Ghee on medium heat
Once the Oil turns hot, add the Shahi Jeera
Then add the Onions and sauté until it starts getting translucent
Then drain out all the water from the Potatoes and add the Potatoes into the vessel. Mix this well and let the Potatoes get a light golden coating. Then cover the vessel and let the Potatoes cook a littleNote: My Mum adds deep fried potatoes to the gravy at the end. However, to save time and make this like a One Pot gravy I add the Potatoes in the same vessel and cook it. But If you wish, you can always add fried potatoes in the end once the gravy is ready, it tastes superb**Also, if you wish to skip the Potatoes, you can do so After about 5-7minutes, add the Tomatoes, all the dry Spices, Salt and Ginger Garlic paste and stir it well and cover the vessel and reduce the heatNote: The moisture from the Tomatoes helps the spices to not stick to the bottom of the vessel. Also as the Tomatoes begin to cook and soften, it turns mushy and this helps to thicken the gravy As this is cooking, hand pick mint leaves and coriander and transfer it into another bowl. Wash the leaves with fresh water and drain out the water. Transfer the mint and coriander into a mixer grinder and make a thick smooth paste. DO NOT add any water
After about 5-7 minutes, once the Tomatoes have turned completely mushy, add the beef water, lemon juice, stock cube and the mint and coriander paste and stir it well and put the lid on
Allow this gravy to boil for about 10-15 minutes and then add the Beef cubes. Mix it well and let it cook
After about 10 minutes, add the yogurt and mix it well with the gravyNote: We add the yogurt towards the end as yogurt sometimes may split on high heat or if left unattended After adding the yogurt, let the gravy boil until it’s nice and thick. Keep stirring it at intervals
Once the gravy turns thick, turn off the heat and keep it aside to cool at room temperatureNote: Once the gravy comes to room temperature, it will further thickenWe bring the gravy down to room temperature so that when we layer the biryani, the heat from the gravy does not further cook the rice as we also have to give it Dum which will cause more heat. Making Biryani is more like a Mission to Save the Long Rice Grains