Harpal, who is part of the 'Laughter Chefs' show, shared, "I think biryani is a complete food in itself. It is a one-pot meal with proteins, carbohydrates and the right kind of flavors. Biryani is a dish that "It represents India very well and is a highly sought-after dish throughout the country."
"Each state or place has its own flavor depending on how they have adapted to biryani. So I think it is, in a way, the perfect dish that represents Indian culture and the country itself," he added.
When asked about a specific biryani trick, the chef said; "Few cooking tricks that Ustad Habib Pasha taught me is that biryani is actually mutton biryani. There is no other biryani, I don't think. Chicken is more like a pulao. It never existed in the early days. The first trick "What Habib Pasha taught me was: 'You have to select the right type of meat and marinate it with dry spices, and you have to actually hammer them, lifting the meat.'"
"After mixing the dry spices, you have to lift the meat and throw it back into the pot. This pounding, repeated for at least 20-25 minutes, breaks down the protein structure of the meat and increases the cooking time." And the second thing that Habib Pasha did was, when he cooked the rice, he added a little milk to it. "This would brighten up the basmati rice and add to the flavor and consistency of the biryani at the end," he said.
Harpal continued, "He also always said, chef, you should boil the water with shahi jeera and add salt to it. And the saltiness of the water should be more so that the rice absorbs the right kind of salt." And then the final product gets the right taste of salt. It is not salty, but it provides the right taste of salt. And that is the most important. The layers of Biryani should be such that the final product gets a fluffy rice Biryani. ".
The chef added, "I learned to make Biryani in the Nizam's kitchen. It is the epitome of perfection. True Biryani, in my opinion, comes from the Hyderabadi tradition. Begum Mumtaz Khan taught me the art of using spices. The Hyderabadi Biryani stands out because it has just the right amount of spices, providing great flavor without being overpowering, unlike Awadhi or Calcutta Biryanis.”
"Each state or place has its own flavor depending on how they have adapted to biryani. So I think it is, in a way, the perfect dish that represents Indian culture and the country itself," he added.
When asked about a specific biryani trick, the chef said; "Few cooking tricks that Ustad Habib Pasha taught me is that biryani is actually mutton biryani. There is no other biryani, I don't think. Chicken is more like a pulao. It never existed in the early days. The first trick "What Habib Pasha taught me was: 'You have to select the right type of meat and marinate it with dry spices, and you have to actually hammer them, lifting the meat.'"
"After mixing the dry spices, you have to lift the meat and throw it back into the pot. This pounding, repeated for at least 20-25 minutes, breaks down the protein structure of the meat and increases the cooking time." And the second thing that Habib Pasha did was, when he cooked the rice, he added a little milk to it. "This would brighten up the basmati rice and add to the flavor and consistency of the biryani at the end," he said.
Harpal continued, "He also always said, chef, you should boil the water with shahi jeera and add salt to it. And the saltiness of the water should be more so that the rice absorbs the right kind of salt." And then the final product gets the right taste of salt. It is not salty, but it provides the right taste of salt. And that is the most important. The layers of Biryani should be such that the final product gets a fluffy rice Biryani. ".
The chef added, "I learned to make Biryani in the Nizam's kitchen. It is the epitome of perfection. True Biryani, in my opinion, comes from the Hyderabadi tradition. Begum Mumtaz Khan taught me the art of using spices. The Hyderabadi Biryani stands out because it has just the right amount of spices, providing great flavor without being overpowering, unlike Awadhi or Calcutta Biryanis.”
