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
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
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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
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I found that frying onions in a lot of oil is the way to go. Not necessarily so much oil to make it float...but enough. Otherwise, the onions just steam and don't get as crispy. The onions should be fried over med-low heat, for about 20-30 minutes, and I add about a teaspoon of salt to make it sweat faster. Also, it should be the right type of onion - I don't know what kind, but the ones at the Indian store fry better than the ones from the local grocery store.
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