Elements of Life

And we’re back with the 2nd episode/webisode of Sammy’s Kitchen – with some new camera angulations, abundant lighting (thank you Home Depot and their bulb selection), crispier contrast and colors – all thanks to Sameer Saadi’s dedication and skeeellz! And of course, this just couldn’t be Sammy’s Kitchen without my teeth showing at least a couple of times –  And yes, I’m not AS serious as I was in the first episode and I made sure of that! Thank you for pointing that out to me! =D

In this 2nd webisode, we bring to your kitchens, the scrumptious and absolutely delicious Hyderabadi Biryani (by popular demand/multiple requests).  ”Biryani” is a meat + rice + spice (or veggies + rice + spice) dish, originating from Persia, and was brought to the South Asian/Indian subcontinent mainly by Muslim merchants and travelers.  And interestingly, Biryani is not only eaten in Pakistan and India, but its many variations can also be found in Iran, Afghanistan, Malaysia, etc. to name a few more countries.

The meat/veggies are cooked separately from the rice and then layered and steamed (dum‘ified – dum daytay hain! – Main bhi kahoon tu bhi kahay, dum duma-dum!). Hyderabadi Biryani, mainly non-vegetarian, is cooked the same way, and uses fried onions and yogurt to create the meat masala and finally topped off with saffron. (This is different from the “Kachchay Gosht ki Biryani” or the Raw Meat Biryani, also famous in Hyderabad, where the raw meat masala and uncooked rice are layered and cooked together.)

This is our family recipe and has been passed down in my Dad’s family who are originally from Hyderabad, India. And although my Mom (born in Aligarh, India) only grew up in Hyderabad, it was after she and my Dad got married that she quickly learned and adopted the Hyderabadi styles and ways of cooking, still keeping her own “Hindustani” cooking alive.

And since my Dad loved to cook so much, I often witnessed this heavenly biryani (and many other amazing Hyderabadi/Non-Hyderabadi dishes) being made by both my Mama and Pops.  Their duo created, by far, THE BEST Hyderabadi Biryani I have ever, EVER eaten – the perfectly cooked rice bursting with the rich aroma of saffron, accompanied by the finger-licking good meat masala that was always balanced in salt and spice and tenderness and taste!

My lovely Mama & My beloved Pops – This one’s for both of you – for giving me your cooking genes. And I can’t thank both of them enough for passing the recipe on and giving me the opportunity to share it with you as well!

Comments, suggestions, critiques, likes, dislikes are welcome! The few sentences I speak in the “intro” are in Urdu, but in the Hyderabadi accent… an accent often made fun of because, well, it does sound funny! It doesn’t stop me from randomly throwing out a phrase here and a word there in Hyderabadi!

Bon Appetit and we humbly apologize for the delay in getting this 2nd webisode out!

(Thank you Shuja Bhai for the technical suggestions and feedback!)

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Sammy’s Kitchen is a new cooking show privately produced by Sameer and Samreen Saadi (s2elements.com) where we try a variety of recipes found on the net, created by ourselves or even family recipes that have been passed down from our parents’ generation.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3