Stir continuously on high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add boiling water and salt, stir well and cook covered on low heat until the water has been absorbed.

Gently stir the rice with a fork and keep aside. Preparing the mutton korma: Cut mutton to medium pieces and clean properly and keep aside in a colander (to remove mutton smell, add some salt, lime juice and yogurt to mutton pieces and leave it for 5-10 minutes and then wash properly).

Mince onions, chillies, ginger and garlic together in a food processor. Chop tomatoes and coriander and keep aside.

Soak poppy seeds in 2tbsp of water, for 15 minutes and grind it to a smooth paste. Heat a little ghee in a pressure cooker and stir fry the minced onion mixture till golden brown.

Add curry powder, tomatoes and salt and saute till tomatoes are cooked well. Into this add ground poppy seeds or cashew nuts and saute.

Add mutton and saute well. Add a little boiling water and pressure cook the meat till done and the gravy thickens (about 20 mints).

Finally add curd and coriander leaves mix well and let the curry a nice boil turn off the heat and keep aside. Assemble the biriyani: Grease an ovenproof baking dish with some ghee.

Divide the rice into three portions. Spread one portion to the bottom of the dish.

Cover the rice with half of the cooked mutton. Spread another layer of rice on top, and then cover with the rest of the mutton.

Finally top the mutton with the last portion of rice. Drizzle some saffron or turmeric soaked in milk and ghee on the rice.

Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C and bake for 10-15 minutes or until heated thoroughly (can microwave it for 6-8 minutes too). Garnish biryani with some golden fried onions, cashews and raisins.

Serve with onion and yogurt salad,lime pickle, dates pickle and papad. RELATED RECIPES Kuska biryani Vegetable biryani Mutton pulao Appams with mutton stew Malabar chemeen biryani Ingredients: For the rice: 3 cups - basmati rice 6 cups - boiling water 3 tbsp - ghee 6 - 1-inch piece cinnamon sticks 8 - cloves 4 - cardamom Salt to taste For the mutton korma: 3/4 kg - mutton/lamb 2 tbsp - curry powder 3 - onions (big) 5 - green chilies 2 - 2-inch piece ginger 15 big cloves - garlic 4 - tomatoes (medium) 2 tsp - poppy seeds/khus khus (if khus khus is not available substitute it with ground cashew nuts) 1 bunch - coriander leaves 2 tbsp - yogurt, whisked 1/4 cup - ghee Salt to taste (less)

They are then ground into fine paste using a blender. Dates paste is heated on low flame until most of the moisture is gone.

Then, the thick dates paste is formed into small balls and rolled into dry coconut. Makes: around a Cup of Dates Coconut Rolls.

Ingredients: Dates 1 Cup Milk 1/2 Cup Thickly Grated Dessicated Coconut 2 tbsps Sugar / Honey to taste (optional) Method of preparation: Chop the dates into small pieces. Heat milk in a sauce pan on low heat, add dates and cook till most of the milk is evaporated or until dates turn soft.

Once the dates come to room temperature, grind them into smooth paste. Put the ground dates mixture back into sauce pot and heat it on low flame to remove any excess moisture.

At this point of time add sugar (if using) and mix well. Then stir in half of the grated coconut into the dates mixture.

Cool the dates mixture until it is warm enough to handle. Take a little more than a tsp of the mixture and roll into smooth balls between the palms.

Repeat the same with remaining dates mixture. Roll each of the dates ball into grated coconut so that the coconut sticks to the dates mixture.

Refrigerate the dates coconut rolls and serve them as a snack when necessary. Notes: For dessicated coconut, freshly grated coconut is spread on the baking sheet and baked in 200F for couple of minutes or until it dries out a bit.

Suggestions: If dates are not soft enough to grind, make sure to cook dates in enough milk to make them soft. If the dates are soft enough to grind before starting the process, you can avoid milk and directly grind them into smooth paste and roll them in coconut.

Variations: You can also add any flavorings or chopped nuts into the dates mixture if you wish. Other Names: Karjuram Kobbari Vundalu, Dates Coconut Rolls (less)

Deseed and finely slice dried dates lengthwise. Remove stems, wash and cut each green chilli into two.

Combine all the ingredients and pour into wide mouthed glass jar. Shake well.

Serve when the juice turns pink. It makes a tasty digestive aid.

RELATED RECIPES Hot Paneer Adraki Adrak Masala Chai Lassi Adrak Navratan Korma Adrak and Ajwain Flavoured Lassi Ingredients: 5-6 - green chillies 100g - tender ginger 1/4 cup - lemon juice Salt to taste 1/2 cup - raisins 10-12 - dried dates (chuhare) (less)

Notes: If dates are hard, soak dates in water for half an hour to one hour (less)

Dry with a clean cloth. Mix all the ground ingredients together with a little salt and fill in the dates.

Keep the dates in clean jar. Mix a little salt with lemon juice and pour over the dates, taking care that dates must be covered with lemon juice.

Keep aside for 7 days. Shake the jar every other day and serve after one week (less)

Dates are chopped up and mixed with moong sprouts along with sliced almonds. Makes: around 1 Cup of Sprouts Dates Salad.

Ingredients: Moong Sprouts 1 Cup Dates 4 – 6 Golden Raisins 10 Almonds 4 Honey 1 tsp (optional) Method of preparation: Soak almonds in water overnight. In the morning, peel the skin off of the almonds and thinly slice them.

Alternatively, microwave the almonds in little water for a minute to peel off the skin. In a mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients together.

Serve sprouts dates salad immediately. Notes: Make sure the sprouts are sprouted well.

Suggestions: Variations: If the sweetness of dates is not enough, stir in some honey. Other Names: Sprouts Dates Salad, Molakettina Pesalu Karjuram (less)