Fine Cooking, July 2014

In India, the aromatic rice dish known as biryani consists of layering cooked rice with spiced meat or vegetables before baking it. In this simplified version, Turkey Biryani, everything is cooked in one pot on the stove.

I have to confess, we both absolutely loved this dish — in fact, we both had seconds! While it is very easy to make, however, there are a lot of ingredients, and since we cook a LOT, we had most of them. One ingredient we had to purchase was the golden raisins. Not having “green cardamom pods” we used the dried brown ones that we did have. Next time however, we would peel the cardamom pods and toast the inside seeds for maximum flavor.

Another switch out would be to exchange the ground turkey for ground pork, veal, lamb or chicken. And because I adore cashews, I upped the quantity from a 1/2 cup to about 3/4 cup.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 16- to 20-oz. package ground turkey
• 2 Tbs. curry powder
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 3-inch cinnamon stick
• 4 medium cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 2 cups lower-salt chicken broth
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup roasted cashews
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

In a heavy-duty 5-quart pot, heat 1 Tbs. of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, 1 Tbs. of the curry powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the turkey is lightly browned and cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the peas, and set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 Tbs. butter in the pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick, and 1/2 tsp. salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the rice and the remaining 1 Tbs. curry powder. Add the broth and raisins, and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook until the rice is just tender and the liquid is absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes.

Discard the cinnamon stick. Fold the turkey mixture, cashews, and cilantro into the rice, and cook just until the turkey and peas are warm. Season to taste with salt and serve.