Kala’s Beef (Bull) Biriyani for Christmas

India banned cow slaughter in 1977, so my husband’s friend used to refer to beef dishes as bull dishes as bull slaughter was (and is) allowed. My family loves the rich flavour of beef and I have been making this biriyani for 4 decades, especially for the Christmas feast. I created a beef biriyani recipe as mutton prices had soared and good mutton was hard to get. I have refined this recipe over the decades and it is now a sumptuous, satisfying, and irresistible treat. I serve it with my Sweet and Sour Brinjal Masala and Thayir Pachadi (Yoghurt and Onion Salad). I have now begun serving this biriyani with a boiled egg as well, as all the restaurants serve biriyani this way and it makes this biriyani extra festive.

Kala’s Beef (Bull) Biriyani for Christmas

Kala’s Dindugal Mutton Biriyani for Easter

Dindugal Biriyani became very popular in Chennai during the early years of this century. It is unique in being very different from the conventional Tamil Muslim biriyani – it does not use basmati rice; the dry masala is broiled and powdered and includes stone flower and star anise; the green masala has onion and green chillies ground together with ginger and garlic. The Dindugal Thalapakatti Biriyani is the most famous version of this biriyani, but I was always unimpressed with it because it lacked the wholesomeness of biriyani and the explosion of flavours in your mouth. I tried out various recipes and slowly developed my own which retains the uniqueness of the original but is also delicious and appetising.

Kala’s Dindigul Mutton Biriyani for Easter

Vegetable Biriyani and Black Gram Dhal Pakoda Kuruma

The Tamil New Year falls on the first day of the Tamil Month of Chithirai (April 14). Most people celebrate with a full vegetarian meal, typically with a neem flower rasam. In our family we have never made neem flower rasam; instead, we make a special vegetarian dish to celebrate the new year. This Vegetable Biriyani and Black Gram Dhal Pakoda Kuruma is a long and involved preparation for the home chef who appreciates the art of cooking. If it is any consolation, you don’t need a wet grinder 🙂

Vegetable Biriyani and Black Gram Dhal Pakoda Kuruma

Kala’s Vaankozhi (Turkey) Biriyani

Turkey meat is only used at Christmastime in Tamil Nadu – we don’t have Thanksgiving here, we prefer to complain all the time 🙂 We can’t just walk into a store and buy it either, we have to place an order in advance. Despite these difficulties, it is increasingly popular in Christmas biriyani, in place of the usual mutton or chicken. The flavour of turkey is so very different that the usual combination of spices and cooking method does not work. I have created this recipe keeping the spices to a minimum compared to the usual biriyanis and also used the bones to prepare stock to add richness. The turkey meat resembles mutton closely in texture, and therefore I have pressure cooked the meat to give a tender product.

Kala’s Vaankozhi (Turkey) Biriyani

Kala’s Christmas Chicken Biriyani

Biriyani is a choice festive dish or perhaps THE choice festive dish for most occasions. During Christmas, chicken or mutton biriyani is prepared in Christian homes. There are varieties of biriyani in India, every part having its own speciality. This chicken biriyani is Tamilian and my own version and a big favourite with the family. My children say the aroma from the kitchen makes them drool and become ravenously hungry when I make it.

Christmas Chicken Biriyani with Sweet and Sour Brinjal Masala and Thayir Pachadi

Festive Meal – Tomato Biriyani with Thayir Pachadi and Milagu Chops

(My city Chennai has been devastated by floods over the last few weeks. I didn’t have power for most of this week and all our infrastructure and supplies are still patchy. I was not sure I would be able to post this but things have improved slightly today. I was not sure I should post this with all the pain and misery around us, but decided to go ahead as everyone needs cheering up and good wholesome food is necessary for keeping spirits high – even mine. If you are in/from Chennai I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well.)

The 12 Days of Christmas always started on the 12^th of December for us, as that was my husband’s birthday. I used to cook special dishes every day and we all increased our girth – it wasn’t only the geese that were getting fat! This festive meal of Tomato Biriyani with Thayir Pachadi (onion raita) and Milagu Chops (pepper chops) was also one of our diet busters 🙂 These are three of the few recipes I have from my father’s mother, Kothai Devadas, who was an excellent cook but unfortunately lived far away in Erode so I rarely sampled her cooking.

Festive Meal – Tomato Biriyani with Thayir Pachadi and Milagu Chops