Fish Dum Biryani

The man’s getting very good at cooking dum biryani. Our preferred flavors lean towards vegetarian, goat and fish. I cannot deal with chicken, no matter how good the masala is. We invited M and M over for dinner. We regularly see M and M, however, it has taken us this long to find a date to cook for them!

The friends are mostly vegetarian but will take a bit of fish. So we decided to do fish dum biryani. Two small fillets of fish, which are rather little for four people. We don't want it to offend the palate or have it overpower the spices, allowing the caramelized potatoes, masala and potatoes shine through.

Market day was fun. The coriander and spring onions were so fresh. Procured two super fresh fillets of red snapper from the wet market. Marinated them in spices and seared them before layering them in the pot to finish in the oven. A cast iron pot is truly a boon to churning out decent dum biryani. I contributed dal tadka. Made it a day earlier and let it rest so that it would be rich and flavorful by the time dinner rolled around. I tend to prefer to let curries and dal rest a day before serving. Also made a tangy tomato egg masala.

The friends ate sooo much and were happy to take the rest of the biryani home. We were even happier to pack it all up for them. I was just iffy about the dal because it would be the third day already. I don't quite fancy keep food for so long. Warned them to please smell and taste a little first after another round of re-heating. The friends brought too many gifts! Aiyoh. They also brought dessert—cute tiny pieces of baklava from Petit Gourmet, which was a perfect end to the meal. At this size, the effects of the sugar bomb isn't that bad.