Pakistani Beef Biryani with Raita

Beef Biryani, the ultimate "comfort" food in my opinion. Though it does take a little extra effort to  put this together, its totally worth it! This recipe feeds a lot of hungry mouths however, its a great leftover that only get's better as it sits. A dish to impress for sure!

Ingredients

3 lbs of beef with bone, cut into small stew pieces

 Shaan Biryani Masala Mix (1 box)

2 tablespoons of Garlic/Ginger Paste (can buy this at your local international grocery store)

2 tablespoons of Ghee (Clarified Butter)

3 tablespoons of Canola Oil

2 medium size onion, finely sliced

2 medium size tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons of plain  yogurt

1/2 teaspoon of salt

5 cups of washed rice

1/2 cup fried onions (can buy this in a container at your local international grocery store or  you can fry your own onion)

yellow/orange food coloring (optional, just to give  your dish some color)

1/4 milk

2 cups water

Raita

1/4 cup of plain yogurt

1/4 cup of milk

1/2 teaspoon of Cumin (zeera)

1 cucumber

1/4 cup of chopped onion

1/2 lemon

1 tomato

1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro

Salt to taste

Preparation: 

Rice

Add 8 cups of water to 5 cups of washed rice and cook. I used a rice cooker which makes life a lot easier, if you do not have one you can cook the rice on your stove top. Bring to a boil and cover with lid, and reduce heat and let it cook for 20 mins. Using a rice cooker - the rice comes out perfect every time. Put cooked rice aside. Mix a couple of drops of yellow or orange food coloring to 1/4 cup of milk and drizzle over rice so that you have a mix of white and colored rice.

Beef:

Add ghee and oil to pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic/ginger paste, stir in completely and add diced tomatoes. Once tomatoes breakdown, add 1 packet of the Shaan Biryani mix (add a little less if you don't want it to be too spicy), beef, yogurt, salt, and stir until all meat is fully coated with the sauce.  Add the 2 cups of water and cover for 20 mins, stirring occasionally. Check on the beef after 20 mins, if the meat is almost falling apart, its done. Take off heat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In another large pot (or a foil sheet pan, which I find is the easiest way to do the next step). Add 1/3 of the cooked rice to the pot/foil sheet pan. Then spoon over the beef mixture with the sauce and all, final layer sprinkle over the fried onions. Repeat until all the rice, beef is in (kind of like building a lasagna). Cover with foil and put into the oven for 20 mins.

Serve with Raita (recipe below) - a yummy side dish/sauce that is a nice pairing to help cool the palette to this yummy but spicy meat/rice dish. 

Raita

Finely cut cucumbers, onions and tomato so that they are all about the same size to a medium bowl. Add cumin, yogurt and milk, chopped cilantro, and salt to taste. Stir everything together - if it looks too thick, add a little milk, if it looks too thin add a little yogurt until its at the consistency you want.

Spicy Chicken Empanadas

Who doesn't love a good empanada? Whether its savory or sweet, I love them all! I get a little help from the store and buy pre-made empanada dough, stock up on a few extra--that way you're always ready to go! This recipe is truly an original. I'm not one to "measure," as I am more of a "pinch of this, and a dash of that" kinda girl. Below is my recipe. These are great to serve as appetizers or even as the main course!

Ingredients

1lb of ground chicken ( ground beef or lamb would work well)

1 medium sized red potato (peeled, cut into cubes)

1 medium sized onion

1/4 cup of peas (thawed out)

1 heaping tablespoon of garlic/ginger paste

1 tablespoon of coriander powder

1 tablespoon of cumin

2 green chilies, finely chopped (can leave out if you want it mild)

1 big pinch of red pepper flakes

salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/4 cup of water

1 package of Goya Empanada dough (local grocery, frozen isle)

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saute pot over medium high heat. Add in chopped onion, and saute until the onion is translucent. Add in the ground chicken, garlic/ginger paste, coriander, cumin, pepper(s), salt and black pepper. Break up the chicken as you cook it through so you're not left with big chunks of chicken. When the chicken is cooked through, add in the diced potato and 1/4 cup of water and cover the pot with a lid. Stir occasionally and cook the potatoes until they are fork tender. Throw in the peas in the last five minutes of cooking and set aside.

Take the empanada dough (bring to room temperature before use; follow package instructions), a place 2 tablespoons of the filling in the center of the circle. Remember not to overfill. Fold the empanada dough over and use a fork to press the dough to ensure its sealed completely. It also makes a pretty design. Each package contains 10 discs. Repeat until all discs are filled. At this point, you can start frying them or freeze them to make another day.

I use a deep fryer, set temperature to 375. Drop the empanadas in and turn over after 1 minute until its golden brown. Drain on paper towel and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce: I served it with Raita (yogurt sauce with cilantro), but my husband really likes to dip his in taco sauce. Its a nice cross between Pakistani and Mexican. The flavors compliment each other very well!