Biryani Masala Recipe (Biryani Masala Powder)

Ingredients

• 1 to 3 bay leaf (tej patta)
• 15 green cardamom (3 grams, elaichi)
• 2 to 3 black cardamom (3 grams, badi elaichi, masala elaichi)
• 2 to 3 star anise (4 grams, biryani flower, chakri phool)
• 1½ tablespoons fennel seeds (12 grams, saunf, refer notes)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper corn (3 grams, kali mirch)
• 5 to 6 pieces cinnamon (2 inch each, 5 grams, dalchini)
• 1 tablespoon cloves (6 to 7 grams, lavang)
• ¼ cup coriander seeds (18 grams, sabut daniya)
• 2 tablespoons caraway seeds (16 grams, shahi jeera)
• 1 mace (2 grams, membrane covering 1 nutmeg, javitri, refer notes)
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg (1½ to 2 grams, grated or crushed, jaiphal)
• 3 (1½ to 2 grams) stone flowers (optional, kalpaasi or dagad phool – medium sized)

Steps

1. Check each spice separately and remove stones, debris and chaff. Wipe the bay leaves and cinnamon clean with tissue. Split the nutmeg into 2 portions using a nutcracker or mortar and pestle.

Roast Spices

1. As an alternative to roasting, sun-dry the spices for several hours until crisp, then let them cool completely.
2. Dry-roast the stone flower and coriander seeds over medium heat until the seeds are aromatic, crunchy and light brown. Put them on a wide tray set on a cooling rack so the spices and tray do not sweat.
3. Put half the nutmeg, about 1.5 to 2 grams, into the pan with the cinnamon, mace, star anise, black cardamoms and bay leaf.
4. Dry-roast over medium heat until the spices begin giving off their aroma, stirring to roast them evenly. Move them to the cooling tray.
5. Add the cloves, black peppercorns and green cardamoms with their shells. Dry-roast for 2 to 3 mins, until they begin to smell fragrant, then put them on the same tray.
6. Dry-roast the caraway seeds over low to medium heat until fragrant. Watch closely because this spice can burn faster, then move it to the tray.
7. Dry-roast the fennel seeds for 3 mins, until a floral aroma develops, and put them on a tray.

How to make Biryani Masala

1. Once every spice has cooled, put them in a grinder jar or spice jar and grind to a fine powder. Alternatively, have the spices milled to a fine powder in a mill.
2. Sieve the biryani masala and keep it in an airtight glass jar. Use the coarse particles for masala tea if you wish. The powder can also be frozen for a year without losing its flavor.
3. Use the powder as needed for any kind of biryani. For chicken masala curry, use the amount needed by that recipe.