Some difficulties encountered

frying onions
       On a couple occasions, onions were burned to the point of bitterness which may have been due to using too high heat.  One attempt included the use of adding water periodically into the mix while frying to prevent burning but that just seemed to make a mess and the onions still came out burnt and soggy.  I've realized a lot of ghee or oil to the point of floating onion slices is not necessary for frying.  Medium heat worked well on the last couple tries, and while it takes about 10-15 minutes, it continues to brown a little once removed from the heat.  Still, its missing something from the fried onion pieces I've seen in biryanis before (mine are very dark and not as crispy).  Does anyone have suggestions on how to fry these onions properly?  Do they even add much taste if you were to marinate together with the meat a mixture of spices and greens along with these fried onions?
   

rice consistency

As you can see from the picture, the rice was clearly overcooked.  I seem to think its never done when I test the rice, and keep it boiling...leading to pictured results.  I've never had problems with Tilda Basmati rice, but I figured it shouldn't make a difference if I was using Kohi Noor rice which seems reputable.  Maybe soaking rice beforehand for an hour is not advisable when you're making a kacchi biryani.  spice mixture  For the first few times making biryani with my own ground spices, the flavor was rich, even if there were numerous other problems.  This time, pictured above, I used some leftover spices I had put in a sealed container from grinding and found a noticeable change in the taste.  I think the fact I had used too much ghee made a difference, but I think grinding the spices immediately after roasting dry spices is a good practice (albeit time consuming) for each meal.  I used a few more ingredients in the most recent spice mixture hoping to add to the taste, but I think the simpler version tasted better. Also I used shrimp instead of lamb so hopefully next time I'll use goat or lamb for a traditional taste.

Hyderabadi Biryani

Hyderabadi Biryani is often considered the most revered biryani of the hundreds of types.  This was once protected along with other recipes in the kitchens of the Nizams to the point where daughters who were to be married off to other noble households could not enter the kitchen for risk of learning or taking a part of the recipe with them.  For myself, the appeal of the biryani is the simplicity of it, the texture of the rice and the tenderness of the meat make this dish savory and worthy of serving to royalty. 

12 months 12 dishes

I hope to take on a different dish every month or so and focus on that one dish for the month.  This way I can experiment within the framework of a general recipe with multiple spice mixtures and techniques for a single dish all while avoiding Shaan masala mixes.