The Gift of Mughals: Bombay Biryani (A Recipe)

This dish is no doubt one of the most favorite among people of the subcontinent. Its heartiness, aroma and the tantalizing amalgam of flavors often remind many of their most cherished childhood food memories. Following is my step-by-step take on this all-time favorite delicacy. To reduce the complexity of this already-arcane recipe, I like to use a ready-made Biryani masala. As you read ahead, just remember not to be overwhelmed by the steps involved. Keep a cool head while reading (and making) this recipe and you shall be awarded immensely!

Ingredients (Serves 5 to 6):

Chicken - 1.5 kilos
Basmati Rice - 1 kilo (4 Cups)
Onions - 6 medium
Oil - 6 to 7 tablespoons
Tomatoes - 5 medium
Yogurt - 250 to 300 gm
Green Chillies - 3 to 4 (or according to taste)
Ginger/Garlic Paste -  3 Tablespoons
Any Biryani Masala - 1 Packet
Potatoes - 3 Medium
Lemon Juice - 7 to 8 tablespoons
Mint + Coriander/Cilantro - Half a bunch each

Method:

0. Read the whole recipe before starting to cook. There is a lot of multitasking involved in order to save time.

1. Start by rinsing the Rice with water repeatedly till the water runs clear. Be gentle so as not to break the Rice. Soak the rice in water just enough to cover it.

2. Slice the onions in half-moons. Heat the oil in a pan/karahi/handi/wok till hot. Put in the sliced onions and fry on high heat till they become translucent and lose most of their water. Keep stirring occasionally to prevent burning (or use a non-stick pan). Once translucent, turn flame to low and let the onions color to reddish-brown.

3. Once this color is achieved, Remove the onions with a slotted spoon. Reserve almost 1/4th of the fried onions in a plate with kitchen towel/tissue paper. Transfer the rest to a blender in a which you have already put in the yogurt, tomatoes, ginger/garlic paste (if  paste not available then use around 5 large cloves of garlic and a square inch piece of ginger) and green Chillies. Blitz till a near-smooth paste is formed.

4. Now in the same pan/wok/handi as you fried the onions in, add a little more oil (if needed) to fry the chicken. Once hot enough, gently put in the chicken and fry till the chicken loses its water and color, and is slightly browned. Keep flame controlled so as not to burn the pan and stir occasionally.

5. Add in the blended paste, put a cup and half (400 ml almost) of water in the blender, rinse and then put this paste-water in the pan as well. Give a stir. Turn heat to a medium.

6. Put in the Biryani masala. Stir once more. Taste to see if you'd like more salt (generally it's just right). Cut the potatoes in quarters if small or medium-sized chunks if the potatotes are medium to large. Put the potatoes into your curry or quorma. Bring to a boil and then cover while turning the heat to medium-low.

7. On a separate stove, put a large pot with water on heat. Cover with a lid to accelerate the boiling process. (In the meanwhile, your quorma will be cooking - stir it occasionally). Once the water is boiling, add in a tablespoon heaped of salt. Drain the soaked rice and add it in the boiling water. Keep the flame medium-high.

8. Meanwhile prepare the lemon juice. And remove the mint and Coriander leaves from the stalks.

9. Boiling the Rice right is crucial to an excellent Biryani so pay close attention to the rice. In 5 to 8 minutes, the Rice will be boiling such that they will rise to the surface of the pot. Take out a grain of rice with a spoon and rub it between two fingers. If it is just about right, you will need to apply a little bit of pressure to break the Rice. You do NOT want over-cooked or under-cooked rice. Overcooked will make your Biryani mushy while undercooked is obviously a no-no. As soon as the Rice reaches the above-described stage (called aik-kanni in urdu), strain out the Rice completely from the pot in a colander. Shake to remove excess water.

10. By this time (around 15-20 minutes), your quorma should be almost done. The oil will start separating and will come to the top. Test if the potatoes are tender by using a knife or fork. Do a final taste check if needed.

11. Now it's time to layer! Work fast to avoid the Rice sticking together. In the pan that you boiled the Rice in, put in a small knob of butter or a tablespoon of oil. Flame should be very very low. Put in half of the boiled Rice. Put half of the quorma in (meat+potatoes+gravy). Evenly distribute half of the mint, Coriander/cilantro, fried onions and lemon juice. Now put in rest of the boiled rice, the quorma and the rest of the layering materials.

12. Tightly cover the pot with a lid. If an oven is available and the pot can fit into it, put the pot in the oven-preheated at 180 C for 15 minutes. Otherwise just keep the pot on a very very low flame for 15 minutes undisturbed.

13. After the 'dumm' period, remove the lid and very carefully mix the whole Biryani together with a slotted spoon to evenly distribute the masala. Try your best to reduce patches of white rice.

14. Serve the Biryani in a dish along with some Kachoomar Salad (cucumber+tomoatoes+bell pepper+cabbage+onions diced into small cubes with lemon juice and salt pepper) as well as some Ratta (whisked yogurt with a little bit of cumin powder+Coriander powder+salt pepper) or green chutney (half bunch mint leaves+half bunch Coriander leaves+2 cloves of garlic+5 tablespoons yogurt+1 tsp cumin powder+salt). 

Notes: You can also add in roasted cashew nuts, raisins or almonds while layering. If you'd like, use orange food coloring during layering as well to add a more vibrant color to the dish.This dish is all about time management and multi-tasking; don't panic and keep hydrated during the cooking process.

Good luck and Enjoy!

Marshmallows, Creativity and Entrepreneurship @ YES Alumni Tech Innovation Camp, 2014

The past three days have given the participants of the YES Alumni Tech Innovation Camp so much to think about, to learn and to improve in themselves. From big fancy words and essential Social Entrepreneurship concepts like Human Centered Design Thinking to Asset Based Community Development (ABCD for short - basically what we studied in KG/or maybe not) to keynotes from impressive individuals like Faisal Khan (An Entrepreneur who turned his life around at 40) and Jeremy (An awesome Aussie guy who decided to stay in Pakistan and help provide solar energy to far flung rural areas) - we have done it all in just three days so far.

Unlike the above sentence fortunately, all of these learning experiences were broken down for us bit and bit by our amazing Trainers so that the content would not be too overwhelming. We, the participants, were engaged in activities that build upon our previous experience and learning but at the same time had us scratch our heads in wonder as we tried to answer the critical questions asked from us during pitching our business plans (which we eventually did) or worked  on the Javelin Experiment Board. It's amazing how at the end of everyday, the content just made so much sense to us and the business models and strategies presented felt so easily accessible and doable.

For example, we had an activity yesterday which was apparently about spaghetti and marshmallows (two of my most favorite foods) but which in reality was based on much deeper lessons for us. What struck me most about today's Marshmallow Tower activity was it's utter simplicity yet sheer effectiveness of instilling the knowledge of important corporate and entrepreneurial skills in us. It was not just about finding the solution to the given problem (building a Spaghetti tower), it was about identifying the problem to begin with. To be honest, it was truly one of the most fun and engaging team-building activities I personally have ever participated in. And the Tech Camp has been full of such activities so far!

And so that's what the Tech Innovation Camp is about - equipping us with skills, resources and insight into what/where/when/how we can create, pitch and execute ideas for sustainable long-term projects that benefit our communities for years to come. What makes it better than other such Conferences? Simply the fact that it is Tech-centered and Innovative in its approach to achieve the above stated goals.

Thank you to the IEARN Network, US State Department and the trainers for making this amazing opportunity happen for us. I personally am certain that now equipped with all the experiences of #IEARNTECHNOVATE, I am ready to make a sustainable project happen!

Ps. The hotel and the food weren't too bad either.

Quite Grateful,
Moiz Rehan.

Social Activism: #EnglishWeek Improves English Ability And Confidence in Rural Kashmir

‘I never thought that learning English could be so much fun!’ – said one student from Bilal Gul Shaheed School, Pallandri in Kashmir after participating in two days of an immersive and intuitive English Language Improvement Workshop organized by a team of YES Alumni and volunteers. This student was one of more than 130 students from three different schools that benefitted from such Workshops under the broader project titled ‘#EnglishWeek’. Accessibility to English language through a new perspective on learning language, using available resources to the greatest extent and having fun alongside were the core ideas behind #EnglishWeek.

Funded by the US State Department under the WYLTE Program (http://www.americancouncils.org/programs/workshop-youth-leaders-teaching-english), ‘#EnglishWeek’ comprised of 3 Workshops and benefitted 9th-10th graders in the rural area of Pallandri – a small town in the province of Kashmir from August 7^th-13^th, 2014. The basic purpose of this project was to help boost the confidence and self-dependence of these students in English which will ultimately help them in their professional and personal lives for years to come. These students are geographically cut off from the rest of the ‘developed’ Pakistan – they had neither the exposure nor the confidence to speak, write, read and practice fluency in English language. Through #EnglishWeek, these students learned the necessary tools to become self-independent in acquiring (not just learning) fundamental and some advanced skills of English language. Through extensive sessions on each sphere of language (Listening, Speaking, Writing, Pronunciation, Grammar, Tenses and Reading), #EnglishWeek provided the students with the necessary impetus that they can utilize to compliment the learning of English language in their classrooms.

The sessions presented during the Workshop were based upon hands-on activities and intuitive ways that helped the students overcome their fear of learning English as a language and not just as a subject. Such activities included ‘Jumping Words’ and ‘Fill in The Blanks’ that used song lyrics to improve listening and vocabulary; ‘Ultimate Picture Description’ and ‘Proverb Charades’ that improved overall communication skills and ‘Written Pandemonium’ that improved students’ communication skills, vocabulary and writing skills.

By conducting #EnglishWeek, I along with other YES Alumni intended to make a difference in the lives of the students that certainly deserve better particularly in the field of English language. This project provided them with the attention and care that they needed to become confident as English language learners and exposed them to an innovative approach towards learning English. These students belonged from schools where English language is not taught effectively and #EnglishWeek provided them with the lift they needed to become independent language learners. I did not need any more encouragement to conduct this project than the fact that Kashmir with its high tourism potential and culturally-rich population needs to have its youth with a strong base and fluency in English to prove their worth.   

The beauty of this project is that it will not only benefit these students but also their families. During the Workshops, the students were encouraged to become independent learners of English language as well as leaders in teaching and disseminating their learned knowledge in their communities. The ripple-effect created will be long-lasting and will benefit a major demographic of the young population of Pallandri. The team of this project is also planning to hold Book Drives in our communities to collect books for the libraries in these schools which we found were quite underfunded. We would also like to urge other Alumni to hold such workshops in their communities all over Pakistan as they are very easy and cost-effective to organize and super-effective for English Language Improvement. 

This project invited English teachers and other WYLTE Alumni and YES students to join the conversation on effective English language teaching by using the #EnglishWeek on Twitter and received an extremely positive response on all social media. Testimonials were also recorded from many students and will uploaded in the form of a documentary on this project soon!

For complete picture albums of the Workshops, please visit:
1^st Workshop at Bilal Gul Shaheed Shaheen School: on.fb.me/1kW4e9Q 

2^nd Workshop at Fauji Foundation Model School: on.fb.me/1A7ssRx 

3^rd Workshop at Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan School: http://on.fb.me/1p9YGrq

To follow the WYLTE Program, please go to:
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/WYLTE_DC

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1owPleD

Presentation materials for the Workshops can be requested by sending an email at moizleo1@gmail.com with the Subject “English Workshop Materials Request”.