Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
First shoot one deer. Take a forequarter a cut into big chunks - bone and sinews included. Use neck meat as well.
I am not going to give exact amounts as i tend to go by taste and looks.
Take a good sized pot - I like a Poikie pot or big le Cruset cast iron. Good glug of rapeseed oil, add a couple of large roughly chopped red onions and cook them down - they want to caramilise, but not burn.
Whilst they are doing there thing take a bulb of garlic, a similar sized chunk of fresh ginger and similar amount of fresh chilli - i prefer sweeter to really hot. Roughly chop into pestle and mortar or magi mix and rapeseed oil and make a good paste.
Take some whole seed garam masala mix. Get this along with Rose Water and ground Turmeric from your local Indian store - much much better than super market. And so so so much better than jarred curry paste.
Grind up garam masala. You need about three good table spoons full of ground masala.
Remove the onions, throw in the venison and brown in off - get some nice caramelised bits on it. Through in a 2” stick of cinnamon and dome cardamon pods. Let them crackle, then add the 2 tbs of ground garam masala and garlic / ginger / chilli paste. And a tbs of ground turmeric,
cook for a minute or two. Return the onions. Add a good dollop of flora (I can’t take dairy, but ghee or yogurt can be used instead) stir it all through.
Finally add a stock cube and enough water to cover the meat and simmer gently. I prefer to stick lid on and stick it in the over.
Even better to do it on a fire.
You want to let the curry part to cook till the meat falls off the bone. I reckon about 1 1/2 hours in a 160°c oven and then turn it off and just leave it till following day.
If you have left the bones and connective tissue’s some magic will have happened - you will have wonderful unctuous stew as all the bones and sinews release jelly, and leaving it over night will have let the flavours fully develop.
Remove the meat from the bones but leave in nice big chunks, but if you like your inner caveman leave it as is.
Warm up the curry - you need a pot with plenty of room.
Thoroughly wash some Basmati rice - enough for however many you will be, plus a bit more. Squeeze of line juice and some saffron and partly cook the rice - it just want to start going soft but still be hard in the middle.
Take a good bunch of fresh corriander and mint, roughly chop.
Put the remaining tablespoon of garam masala into the curry base. Add a chopped fresh chilli. Cover over with the corriander and mint. You can also add a layer of spinnage and greens.
Add the rice on top of the corriander, I also add dried cranberries and / or pomegranate seeds into the rice.
Add a splash of rose water and knob of butter.
Cover over with tin foil tighly - you want a seal , turn up the heat till liquid bubbles and you see the tinfoil swelling, add the lid abd shove it in the oven for about 30 minutes.
Remove the biryani and let it sit for another ten minutes. You can do some naan breads etc in the oven whilst its resting.
Then get all your guests / family around the pot and open it. Let then saviour the smells.
Serve the naan to your guests. Meanwhile tuck into The Biryani- I like a little mango chutney on the side. Several helpings later you will be replete.
You can add the rice once the meat starts falling off the bone, but its much better made day before.
Note I said make more rice etc than you need. Left overs following day are fantastic.
I am not going to give exact amounts as i tend to go by taste and looks.
Take a good sized pot - I like a Poikie pot or big le Cruset cast iron. Good glug of rapeseed oil, add a couple of large roughly chopped red onions and cook them down - they want to caramilise, but not burn.
Whilst they are doing there thing take a bulb of garlic, a similar sized chunk of fresh ginger and similar amount of fresh chilli - i prefer sweeter to really hot. Roughly chop into pestle and mortar or magi mix and rapeseed oil and make a good paste.
Take some whole seed garam masala mix. Get this along with Rose Water and ground Turmeric from your local Indian store - much much better than super market. And so so so much better than jarred curry paste.
Grind up garam masala. You need about three good table spoons full of ground masala.
Remove the onions, throw in the venison and brown in off - get some nice caramelised bits on it. Through in a 2” stick of cinnamon and dome cardamon pods. Let them crackle, then add the 2 tbs of ground garam masala and garlic / ginger / chilli paste. And a tbs of ground turmeric,
cook for a minute or two. Return the onions. Add a good dollop of flora (I can’t take dairy, but ghee or yogurt can be used instead) stir it all through.
Finally add a stock cube and enough water to cover the meat and simmer gently. I prefer to stick lid on and stick it in the over.
Even better to do it on a fire.
You want to let the curry part to cook till the meat falls off the bone. I reckon about 1 1/2 hours in a 160°c oven and then turn it off and just leave it till following day.
If you have left the bones and connective tissue’s some magic will have happened - you will have wonderful unctuous stew as all the bones and sinews release jelly, and leaving it over night will have let the flavours fully develop.
Remove the meat from the bones but leave in nice big chunks, but if you like your inner caveman leave it as is.
Warm up the curry - you need a pot with plenty of room.
Thoroughly wash some Basmati rice - enough for however many you will be, plus a bit more. Squeeze of line juice and some saffron and partly cook the rice - it just want to start going soft but still be hard in the middle.
Take a good bunch of fresh corriander and mint, roughly chop.
Put the remaining tablespoon of garam masala into the curry base. Add a chopped fresh chilli. Cover over with the corriander and mint. You can also add a layer of spinnage and greens.
Add the rice on top of the corriander, I also add dried cranberries and / or pomegranate seeds into the rice.
Add a splash of rose water and knob of butter.
Cover over with tin foil tighly - you want a seal , turn up the heat till liquid bubbles and you see the tinfoil swelling, add the lid abd shove it in the oven for about 30 minutes.
Remove the biryani and let it sit for another ten minutes. You can do some naan breads etc in the oven whilst its resting.
Then get all your guests / family around the pot and open it. Let then saviour the smells.
Serve the naan to your guests. Meanwhile tuck into The Biryani- I like a little mango chutney on the side. Several helpings later you will be replete.
You can add the rice once the meat starts falling off the bone, but its much better made day before.
Note I said make more rice etc than you need. Left overs following day are fantastic.
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enjoyed reading that. An guessing that isn’t your first rodeo making that, and involves a bit of passion which a can tell you have for cooking mate
The flavour from these packs is irreproducible. Black magic.
