Biryani for One Thousand People

Biryani for One Thousand People

Original Recipe by Radahm Rashesh

Recipe and notes translated from Hindi by Lynn Walker

Note from the translator:

Scribbles in the margins of the original recipe have been translated to the best of my ability. Some notes have been written over, crossed out, or (presumably) ripped out. With help from the Illinois Institute of Indian Cooking, some of these sections have been restored and were included in the translation. Some notes included suggested modifications to the recipe. Thank you and get cooking.

Chef's note (Radahm Rashesh):

Dum pukht.

Note from the translator:

Dum puhkt is a phrase I’ve chosen to leave untranslated, due to its cultural significance, in consultation with the Illinois Institute of Indian Cooking.

Chef's note (Radahm) continued:

Dum pukht. Don't overcomplicate it. Rice and lentils at this volume is meant to nourish the people that make up our community, our town, our family using the ingredients readily available at such a volume. This technique has passed through many hands and across one million tongues before my father, and his father before him, were born to this world. What are another thousand in the life of biryani? It is tested and true. I do not set out to surprise or prove anything with this recipe, only to nourish the people I love.

Ingredients:

5 kg of ginger

2.5 kg of garlic

250 kg of mutton

65 kg of rice

40 kg of red lentils

Chef’s note (Radahm):

My wife is telling me that red lentils do not hold up as well as other lentils when cooked for this long. I’m making a note that you can use any lentils you want, but I am going to use red lentils.

100 g of saffron

3 kg of Kashmiri red chili powder

2 kg of crushed Kashmiri chilis

Chef’s note (Radahm):

It’s important that these chilis are sourced from Kashmir, from our home. No other chili produces the right flavor or color for biryani.

650 g of whole green chilis

480 g of cardamom

320 g of turmeric

650 g of cumin seeds

300 g of caraway seeds

Note from the translator:

Cumin is translated from jeera. The etymological origin of "jeera" points to the medicinal benefits perceived from consuming cumin. Caraway is translated from "shah jeera" meaning "royal cumin" because it's considered higher quality and more aromatic than your typical cumin.

Chef's note (Aluke Rashesh):

Cinnamon? My father put cinnamon in a savory dish. Isn't that odd? Anika tells me it's in everything I've eaten in my entire life, and I'm not sure I believe her. My dad spent the whole day with her before our wedding making it. Maybe he was teaching her. Did he know I wasn't cut out for this?

Chef's note (Anika Rashesh):

My husband is exhausted from making biryani three times a week. That's three thousand people fed, but it's taking a toll. I don't think he enjoys it. I have to stand over him and make sure he adds every ingredient. Sometimes, he tries to argue that we shouldn't add cinnamon. Dum pukht, dear.

320 g of cinnamon

25 kg of ghee

Note from the translator:

Ghee is a type of clarified butter used commonly in Indian cuisine.

25 litres of oil

Chef's note (Abdul Rashesh):

Mother and father let me help make the biryani for cousin Yahya's wedding today. Mother knew we didn't have enough oil so she sent me to the market with my brothers. She insists on safflower oil, but it has no taste.

Chef's note (Rudra Rashesh):

Abdul never listens and always gets us into trouble.

Chef's note (Abdul) continued:

I got mustard oil instead.

Chef's note (Dev Rashesh):

The guests thought meat smelled funny and half of them didn't eat it. Abdul's recipe can be called biryani for five hundred when he grows up.

Chef's note (Anika):

It's important when cooking for the masses that you try to meet expectations. As your grandfather said… It is tested and true.

Chef's note (Abdul):

As grandfather said… Dum pukht.

2 liters of lemon juice

Chef's note (Dev):

Lemon is hard to travel with and time consuming to squeeze. I've been cutting with vinegar, white vinegar. The soldiers don't seem to mind. They're grateful for getting warm food at all.

Chef's note (Rudra):

The harder part is what to cook it in. We've been dragging an old P-10 roof along the line of control, trying to stay ahead of the soldiers, so that the food is mostly cooked by the time they've set up camp. Abdul took that opportunity to playact that he was a scout for the army. We haven’t seen him in days.

25 liters of yogurt

Note from the translator:

There are entries among Rudra and Dev Rashesh that are completely missing. In consultation with the Illinois Institute of Indian Cooking, we believe these entries revolve around how they sourced this volume of yogurt while on the frontlines of the First Kashmir War. I've also opted for the American spelling "yogurt" over the British spelling "yoghurt" since it was Britain's withdrawal of India that acted as the catalyst for the First Kashmir War, and ultimately Adbul Rashesh's beheading by a militia in Mirpur.

16 dozen eggs

Chef's note (unknown):

I’ve been looking for this recipe forever.

30 kg of potatoes

Chef's note (unknown):

Great Uncle Dev told me about my grandfather. He would run away and get into trouble like me.

25 kg of onions

Chef’s note (unknown):

Apparently, he made what Dev calls “evil biryani.” He quadrupled the cinnamon to upset his dad, used every color lentil to upset his grandfather, and used mustard oil to upset everyone else.

1 1/4 kg fine salt

Chef’s note (unknown):

If I could make evil biryani for everyone on earth, like a million people, maybe they’d stop fighting. They’d be too busy throwing up.

7 kg coarse salt

Chef’s note (unknown):

Does this recipe come with instructions?

Note from the translator:

It does not. The Illinois Institute of Indian Cooking and I would like to thank you for reading through this piece of history. As Radahm Rashesh would say: dum pukht, breathe and cook.