Sindhi Biryani

1 – 1.5 kg chicken/mutton
4 cups basmati rice, soaked for 20 mins (try to use pakistani basmati rice, I might be biased but I am convinced it is better than the Indian rice!)
2 medium potatoes, roughly diced
1/2 kg tomatoes, chopped
a little over a cup of yogurt (around 250g)
1 tsp red chili powder (use less if you don’t like hot food)
1 – 1/4 tsp salt
3 medium onions, sliced
2 tsp each garlic and ginger paste
4 black cardamom pods (this is larger than regular cardamom and has a different flavor)
8 green cardamom pods
10 cloves
1 tsp black peppercorn
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
3-4 green chillies, whole, stalks removed (use birds eye if you want it hot, jalapenos if you want a milder flavor. using whole chilies will infuse the biryani with their fragrance & not give it additional heat)
a handful of chopped mint and coriander leaves
8 – 10 prunes

2-3 bay leaves, 2 black cardamom pods and 1 stick of cinnamon – extra (optional)

Fry the sliced onions in a little oil on medium heat (in a large pot) for 10 – 15 mins until they are reddish in color. keep stirring around to make sure they don’t burn, you want a nice reddish-brown color. Remove a little over 1 tbsp with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool on absorbent paper. (since these onions are used in a lot of pakistani dishes for garnish, you want them to look crispy. for that – fluff them with a fork while they are cooling, so the steam escapes).

To the remaining onion, add the ginger and garlic, tomatoes, prunes, and all the spices as well as diced potatoes.

Stir fry on medium high heat until the tomatoes are pulpy and oil seperates from the gravy.

Add the meat and yogurt and a couple of tablespoons of water (add 1/2 cup water if making it with mutton) , stir fry on medium high for 1-2 mins, till the meat is coated with the gravy. Then cover and simmer until the meat is tender and the water has reduced. One indication that everthing is cooked is when oil starts separating from the curry.

Add whole green chillies, half of the mint and coriander leaves and simmer, uncovered, for 2- minutes.

Boil rice with 3 tsp salt, bay leaves, cinnamom sticks and black cardamom (if using) till it is half-done. Drain water.

Layer the half-boiled rice over the curry in a pot.

sprinkle remaining mint leaves, coriander leaves and the fried onion on top of the rice.

Cover tightly, cook on low heat for maybe 10 mins and then remove from heat.

Remove cover, gently mix everything up.

Serve with a cooling Raita.

Cooking Light: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1918482

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients below and mix together. Once mixed thoroughly, roll burger meat into medium size patties (a little larger than sliders).

-1 lb of ground bison meat
-1 egg (this is a critical ingredient b/c it prevents meat from drying)
-A pinch of salt & pepper (use sparingly)
-A pinch of seasoned salt (use sparingly)
-A pinch of BBQ seasoning (anything will work)
-A splash of your favorite BBQ sauce
-A small pinch of garlic powder

Keep in mind that less is more w/ the seasonings. you don’t want to take away from the delicious taste of bison

Before turning on, spray grill w/ pam or olive oil spray and then heat to 300 degrees. cook burgers for 3-4 min a side until medium rare to medium. DO NOT be afraid to eat medium rare- this is how bison meat should be eaten. get your lovely wife to fry some french fries or onion rings and ENJOY w/ a tasty miller lite!