NICHOLA FLETCHER'S RECIPE
© 2002 Nichola Fletcher

VENISON BIRYANI

This lovely warming recipe is the perfect comfort food for cold weather. It was given to me many years ago by Dani Seebaruth, a delightful Mauritian customer who lives in Glasgow. Mauritius has a large deer population, so Mauritians are expert at cooking venison. When Dani sent the recipe, he said it would make a real treat for four to five people. It certainly would, indeed I rather think that it might stretch a lot further. I first published this recipe in my very first cookery book "Venison, the Monarch of the Table" but it has been out of print for a year or two now and it seems a pity not to give others the opportunity to try it. The ingredients list is long, but this is what gives the complex rich flavour

Ingredients

2kg (4½ lbs) venison haunch, cut into chunks
250ml (3/4 pint) plain yoghurt
1kg (2¼ lbs) small peeled potatoes
Small bunch of fresh coriander leaves
4 x 5cm (2in) sticks of cinnamon
5 bay leaves
About 5cm peeled fresh root ginger
3-4 tablespoons Jeera powder
1 dessertspoon of saffron
10 cardamom pods
10 whole cloves
1 teaspoon chopped mint leaves
3 sliced chillies, strength to your taste
1kg (2¼ lb) onions, sliced and browned
1kg (2¼ lb) Basmati rice
150 ml (½ pint) cooked sweet corn or chopped green beans 
(optional) 4-5 tablespoons natural yellow food colouring

Method

Put the venison into a large bowl and stir in the yoghurt. Pierce the potatoes 2 or 3 times in different directions with a sharp knife and add to the meat with the coriander, two of the cinnamon sticks, 1½ teaspoons salt, bay leaves, Jeera, saffron, 4 of the cardamom pods, 4 of the cloves, the mint, chillies and a third of the browned onions. Add 300 ml (½ pint) water and 150 ml (¼ pint) oil (the oil used to brown the onions is perfect for this). Mix all together well and leave to marinate for at least an hour.

In the meantime, put the rice into a large pot and cover it with 2.5 cm (1 inch) of water and half-cook it. Add the remaining cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and a heaped teaspoon of salt, stirring it at intervals over a low flame.

Take a large fire-proof pan or casserole and arrange the potatoes among the meat and sauce, sprinkling some of the remaining fried onions over it. Place about 2.5cm (one inch) of rice over this. Then sprinkle some more onions plus sweet corn or green beans followed by another layer of rice. Continue making layers of rice, keeping a few onions and beans or sweet corn to sprinkle on the top. Sprinkle the yellow colouring over the top two layers of rice.

Cover the pan and place it over a low fire for 20 minutes, then an even slower fire for a further 45 minutes, or until the meat is just cooked. Do not stir it at all. After the initial 20 minutes it may be necessary to sprinkle on a cup of water to stop the base from burning. By dipping a carving knife through the layers you can check the wetness. Avoid both burning and over-watering. Leave the dish, covered, to rest in a warm place for 30-45 minutes.

To serve, remove the rice layers to a separate dish, check the meat is cooked, then give each person their rice with a potato and the meat on top. A beautiful aroma will arise, special to Biryani alone.