Method

Marinate meat: Mix chicken/mutton with yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, biryani masala, half the fried onions, mint, salt, and 2 tbsp ghee. Marinate minimum 4 hours. Peel potatoes and fry in oil until golden, then sprinkle with a little biryani masala.
About 15 min
Tip: The spiced fried potato is the soul of Kolkata biryani — do not skip the frying step or use boiled potato.
Parboil rice 70% done in salted whole-spice water. In a heavy pot, cook the marinated meat directly in the pot, stirring, until half-done (15 minutes). Add the fried potatoes among the meat. Layer parboiled rice over meat and potatoes. Add saffron in warm milk, kewra and rose water. Sprinkle remaining fried onions, mint, and ghee.
About 30 min
Tip: The Kolkata style is pukki (semi-cooked meat) layered with parboiled rice — different from the kacchi (raw) method of Hyderabad.
Seal the pot tightly. Place on a tawa on lowest heat for 30–35 minutes. When the seal is broken, gently mix only the very top layer — do not mix the entire pot (this maintains the layers). Serve each portion with a potato, a few pieces of meat, and rice from different layers. Serve with cucumber raita.
About 35 min
Tip: Breaking the seal at the table is a ritual — the aroma that escapes is the signal of a well-made biryani.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

Contains: dairy