They say handwriting can reveal a lot about a person. I hope that this isn’t true because a cursory glance at my cursive would reveal:
a) a confused individual
b) a lost individual
c) a lazy individual
Ransom note message from Mr NQN
Just plain messy
I’m not the only one with illegible handwriting. Mr NQN’s admits that his is the kind of handwriting that serial killers or kidnapper’s ransom notes are made out of. My illegibility could make me a doctor although I’m sure that doctors aren’t as afraid of blood as I am. My poor handwriting has gotten me into trouble before. I have looked at my calendar (yes I still have an old skool calender, how ancient) and have found myself staring at an entry wondering what on earth I have scheduled myself to do at a certain time that I just cannot read.
I first saw Faith’s recipe for these gorgeous Beef Biryani bowls months and months ago and had actually put this on the shopping list. I wrote basmati rice but in my haste and sloppy scrawl I had written something that didn’t resemble those words. Instead I stood at the supermarket wondering what b….. r….. item I was to pick up. Beef rissoles? Hmm unlikely. Beetroot relish? Maybe… Bacon Rinds? Definitely not.
My pantry finally stocked (I used the smoked rice I bought on my Marrickville tour) I decided, rather foolishly to make this on a day that I was hellishly busy. I thought that there was no way that I was going to get this done and photographed in time but once the beef was done I cooked the rice for ten minutes. I thought that it might be complicated to do and I may have issues unmoulding it so I tested one and it was so easy and unmolded so readily that I had dinner ready much quicker than I thought.
Smoked rice
I took one bite and it was fantastic. The smoked basmati rice was an amazing addition and added another flavour dimension to the biryani. Adding turmeric added colour and flavour and the beef was lovely and tender inside. It could also be easily done with a vegetable curry if you prefer. It also thought that it was an interesting way to serve curry at an Indian dinner party.
So tell me Dear Reader, what would your handwriting reveal about you?
Beef Biryani Igloos
Makes 4 large igloos
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 kg/2 lb beef, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
- 6 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 6 tablespoons biryani paste
- 1 c plain low-fat yogurt
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 2 medium-large onions, thinly sliced
- 3 medium-large green bell peppers, thinly sliced
- Basmati rice (for serving) I used smoked rice
1. In a 5 quart pot with a lid, heat the oil on high heat; add the beef and cook for 2-4 minutes until browned. Add the garlic, ginger, and biryani paste and sauté for about a minute. Add the yogurt and bay leaf and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add about 3 cups of water, cover the pot, bring it up to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer and let it cook for an hour.
2. Add the raisins to the beef and cook for 30-60 minutes until much of the water has evaporated out (see picture below). If the water isn’t evaporating out fast enough, you can leave the lid ajar to allow the steam to escape. Add the onions and peppers and cook on medium for 30 minutes until there is little if any liquid in the pot (see picture below).
Oil the bowl and sprinkle tumeric powder around the bowl. Line the bowl with a layer of rice
Fill it with the beef curry
Cover with another layer of rice
Upturn bowl onto the serving plate and carefully remove bowl
3. To Serve Beef Biryani Stuffed Inside Basmati Rice: Lightly spray cooking spray inside a bowl (the bowl should be about the size of a bowl you would eat your morning cereal out of), then lightly sprinkle turmeric inside the bowl. Press cooked basmati rice onto the bottom and up the sides of the bowl, making sure to press hard enough so that the rice is packed. Add biryani to fill the well in the center of the rice, then add rice to cover the biryani, again, making sure to firmly pack the rice. Turn the rice out on to a plate, carefully twisting the bowl off to remove it.
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73 Comments | Add your own
How interesting! I’ve never tried smoked basmati, but I can imagine the flavour it would add to this dish! My handwriting? Hmm, it tends to change according to what mood I am!
Love hidden food! Looks amazing. To be honest, I can’t read my husband’s handwriting too.
Mmmhhh, yummy! that is a terrific idea!
Cheers,
Rosa
Wow! That’s a great presentation! I love biryani, be it with beef, chicken or lamb. Btw, I love your shopping list note, it’s cute
!
What a great idea. I was disappointed when I saw this had beef, which I don’t eat, but this method could really be applied to any biryani. Yay and thanks!
These igloos are such a great idea. I can imagine serving them to the kids – Igloos they will just love them.
Love the presentation, Lorraine. Going to have to try it!!
That is such a funky idea! Biryani bowls!!!
I don’t know WHAT my writing reveals about me but it’s pretty legible, in the most part! My senility and laziness manifests in other ways!
beef igloos, what niftiness! i often write such that it becomes a guessing game later on–fun for a second, but not much longer than that…
Hey so does the Pataks biriyani paste get your recommendation flavour wise?
great party idea! My handwriting is like print…boring? square? neat? Best not to stop and think,hehe.
I used to win prizes for my copybook writing at school. Unfortunately my mind now races ahead of my hand, and even I can’t read my writing sometimes.
Love the recipe.
I used to do that in high school. Stand up to read something and not be able to. Made my anxiety even worse
I often get complimented on my handwriting but it’s not nearly half as nice as it used to be since computers became the way to communicate!
My shopping list (same as yours btw, but you knew that
) is nearly the only thing I write on these days – apart from the odd minutes here and there…
This looks yummo. 1 more day and herbs and spices are my friend again!
Great presentation! Igloo is the perfect way to describe it.
Yum! This is so cute, and a great way to serve the dish.
oooh I love this technique – pure genius!!!
I have really neat handwriting – hehe and people always tell me I could never be a doctor because it is TOO neat!!! (oh that an I am hopeless at all things science…..)
What a beautiful presentation for biryani!
Lorraine…you did an exceptional job with this Biryani ;o)
About both your handwriting…yes…maybe all of the abouve decriptions…however, I interpret it as you both being good prioritizers…you have more important things to do than write ;o) LOL
Ciao for now,
Claudia
It’s like a savory fondant, love it!
I love biryani – but one of those things I wouldn’t make myself…not out of fear…just hasn’t occured to me til now
As for my handwriting – mine is a lot like yours. Its so messy and I write letters in the wrong order. To help other people out I usually stick to all caps these days but it doesn’t look that much better haha!
How fun! My handwriting would say ‘perfectionist’ how sad. I remember a lecture at uni where they explained how NOONE can have the perfect foundation writing they taught at schools in the 80s/90s so we have to change the way we teach it – they proved it by getting us to all write a sentence and compare it to the ‘perfect’ one. Mine was identical and disproved the poor lady’s point. Apparently I’m just a big nerd
The igloo shape is very neat and I am very intrigued by the smoked rice!
I think my handwriting has gotten worse over the years, not really sure why. I can read yours….just not the third one. Sour cream?
Yum! Making these soon!
My handwriting is horrible! Ever since I struggled to take copious notes in University, I developed my own style of short hand… which needless to say, no one else can understand. I think my assistant my murder me one of these days when I leave notes! She has told me to email her!
Love it! For some reason, I’ve really got into serving bowl shaped food over recent months
We are having curry tonight, so will give it a try! xxx
Love to study the writing really isn’t easy to understand them …well…mine is worst!
This beefy dish deserve a gorgeous bite
All the best,
Gera
Lovely way to present the good old briyani rice! Your little anecdote about your handwriting is funny! Yes, you have a doctor’s scribble and mr. ngn’s looks like a….kid’s hand writing
…
Oooh, the crispy bits of rice are my fave. Wish I could have an entire bowl of just THAT!
Ya know, I used to have very nice handwriting — until I became a journalist. Now, all these years of having to write notes so quickly has taken its toll. Sometimes, I can’t even read my OWN writing. How sad is that?!
I love that you have an old school calander, its so rare these days, I would be lost without mine.
Oooh, I saw smoked rice at the essential ingredient a few years back and wanted it desperately, then forgot about it! So glad it’s got the thumbs up from you… I’ll have to go and splurge soon, I think!
Fabulous! And I bought that smoked rice on your suggestion, so happy to finally have something to do with it! Thanks, Lorraine..
Very cute, love the name!
Wow I absolutely love biryani…specially lamb n it has to be te typical slow cooked one…anything won’t do.
)
I loved ur way of presenting it like a igloo..it is good during sit down dinners n more presentable.
Well my handwriting reveals I am a crazy perfectionist, wit slow but steady results n lost most of de time
Smoked rice sounds fantastic. Why have I never seen this product? This biriyani is definitely a break from the traditional. Yummo!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Lorraine! It looks absolutely gorgeous and I bet the smoked rice added so much flavor! Lol, my handwriting is absolutely atrocious…I have no idea what it would say about me!
YUM!! That looks so tasty and clever. I will have to try it. As for handwriting, I have the worst and like you half the time I don’t even know what I have written, although I understoon the scribble perfectly when I wrote it… I can write neatly, I just mostly dont.
G’day and thanks (again) for being able to learn something new!
LOVE the stuffed presentation too!
Will HAVE to put finding Smoked Rice on my list!
Cannot believe to date I have missed!
Ohh, this sounds so flavorful and delicious!
I think my handwriting might reveal that I’m RUSHED and BUSY — all slanted, half-cursive, half-print!
OK, YUM!!! This looks fantastic…creative as usual. As for my handwriting…that’s why I use a word processor whenever possible…as a calligrapher I make a great cook!
Holy…smokes!!! That is a BRILLIANT idea! A rice igloo! OMG! It reminds me a bit of my rice-crust pizza. I hate rice, but when it’s burnt and crispy? Awesomeness!
smoked rice! I want some!
as for handwriting – if messy writing reveals that you are a doctor then I think I would be a brain surgeon!
I think my handwriting would place me in the ‘serial killer in training’ department. That or ‘woman on the verge’, ‘I have a teenage boy’, ‘if you think this is bad you should see…’ or my son’s favorite, ‘oh god! I did what?!’
As for the biryani… I’m gonna have to give that a shot and use some of the delicious iflavour spray as a finisher <3
I sometimes can’t read my handwriting either. Sometimes I think to myself who wrote that, then laugh when I realize I wrote it. This really is a gorgeous meal. xoxo Mum
That dish seriously reminds me of a similar one in Marsha Mehran’s novel Rosewater and Soda Bread. It’s called a tacheen; it’s cooked in the same way, but features lamb rather than beef.
(MY handwriting? Alas, it’s a wonder I didn’t get into medical school; it’s horrible!)
This looks delicious. Makes me really hungry, but must wait till my stomach settles down from problems I am having. You must have a stomach of steel. Some of these recipes are spicy. I hope to get back to that some day, and at least once in a while. I agree, I am not a good writer especially script. Printing is ok. We did learn how, but look at signatures and wow. You are too funny Lorraine. You know how to make a person laugh and know that so many of us are the same.
My handwriting gets bigger the quicker I write & I’ve often thought how stupid that is, I mean making my writing bigger just takes more time…, go figure. Not sure what it says about me considering the conundrum that even I pick up
I loved these igloos of biryana, very cool little idea and just a little bit classy too.
Wow! How cool!
ha! That is awesome! you just reminded me that I have a biryani post in draft…. heh!
And how sad is it that I can actually read your writing!!! It looks very similar to mine.
I love the biryani, I will have to give this one a go, looks lovely Lorraine
This is freaking awesome. I’m so so impressed! I shall be trying this soon!
Oh No! I was about to blog about my exact same smoked rice that I picked up at Essential Ingredient. I guess I will wait a month or two now. Besides, I need people to forget how fantastic your recipe is before they see mine, I don’t want to disappoint them after your marvel!
My handwriting is very good usually, actually I used to be asked to write in cards for people and to do wedding invites etc, so I purposely started getting messy. I know there is something wrong with that, but I can’t afford a shrink. I guess I’ll just have to self medicate with food instead.
P.S Mr NQN’s note looked like a ransom demand, what did you have to pay him to get the cake back?
Lorraine, this looks absolutely delicious! I’m going to try it myself the second Autumn hits and report back.
Haha, I giggled out loud at your handwriting dilemma in the supermarket! My handwriting is generally ok, but I wish I had that gorgeous arty writing that all designers/architects seem to have!
Briony xx
What a novel way to present Biryani, especialy if having friends over for dinner.
My handwriting is pretty good and something I’ve always taken a great deal of pride in. I love Calligraphy and make use of it in cards etc. It’s another R & R that I enjoy aside from cooking
wow so cute! & glad that the bowl part wasnt too hard
Smoked rice – I’ve never even heard of it but sounds yum. My handwriting changes from day to day so, uh, split personality? ;P
My messy handwriting tells me that my brain is actually going faster than my fingers can handle! I picked up a bag of that smoked rice in Rozelle a couple of years ago and it was fabulous, the smokey flavour enhancing anything that you serve it with! Haha, I thought you baked the rice in something to get that crusty rice on top of your igloo but it’s just turmeric, looks great though!
Ooh, I love smoked anything… honestly, if you smoked chocolate I would buy it. The igloo is a darling idea for hosting the biryani… must be delicious rice too-soaking up those lovely flavors. And about the handwriting, Dr Lostpast just gave me a lecture about mine… he said I wrote choe milk not choc milk on a shopping list and that it took him forever to figure it out!!!
These look great, I love Indian. My handwriting is full of contradictions – I tend to switch between messy & neat, capitals & lower class… not sure what that says about me though!
There are just too many things to like about this dish. It looks awesome, I love the use of ‘igloo’, it’s like getting a present because of the goodies hidden inside, and wow I can definitely believe the depth of flavour with the smokiness of the rice would be amazing. Obviously this is all counteracted by the presence of beef but I can just pretend it’s goat or lamb
My handwriting is normally ridiculously neat. I have bank tellers tell me so. You would think that my bedroom would be a bit tidier then, really.
I think whoever tried to read my handwriting would think I was a lunatic.
It looks just like an igloo! The smoked rice sounds wonderful. And lastly – I’m glad you didn’t buy and bacon rind!
So why didn’t I think of that? Great presentation.
My handwriting, ahhh, sigh……. You have nothing on me and I too keep an old fashion calendar/diary I write in to know what I am up to. Have all the gadgets to use, but there is just something about that book I carry around, almost comforting.
what an amazing biryani… looks lovely…
Cheers,
The Variable, Crazy Over Desserts – Nachiketa
Catch me on facebook @ Crazy Over Desserts
I’ve got biryani on the menu this week but now I think I’ll try these igloos – what a great presentation. The sauce looks lovely and rich too.
What a beautiful briyani. I really have to try and make this for my Mr P, he would be so happy.
Looks delicious, Lorraine. I love rice with a golden crust – definitely a must try!
“I have your cake” ? Haha. I wonder what it means that Barry’s writing is always neat, no matter what. Even when he’s writing in a hurry.
That is very cool! I will be on the hunt for smoked basmati rice!! and one day I’ll get the courage to make this!
This is BRILLIANT!
So simple and so effective.
My husband would love these!!! He loves curry and is a big kid.
My handwriting used to be very stylish in ink but these days it’s a lazy scrawl in biro as I rarely have reason to write properly and have gotten out of the habit. But I type faster than I used to!
How did I ever miss this post. This looks delightful! Love the presentation!
MY HAND-WRITING IS JUST AS BAD.
I LOVE BASMATI (BUT HAVE NEVER TRIED THE SMOKED ONE). IT GOES WELL WITH CURRY (BEEF-CURRY, CHICKEN-CURRY, VEGETABLE-CURRY, EVEN TUNA-FROM-THE-CAN-CURRY).
THIS IS A VERY NICE PRESENTATION!
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