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Photo: S. Subramanium

Masquerade Pasta Biriyani prepared by Rakesh Kumar

There’s no hard and fast rule that biryani can only be cooked with rice. Here the pasta is cut fine, making it look like rice. And like biryani it’s also cooked on dum and a purdah is put on it.

3 cups uncooked penne pasta

2 cups diced boneless mutton

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp ghee

1 tsp jeera

5 cloves

1 tsp ginger chopped

1 tsp garlic paste

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped tomato

1/2 cup green olives

4 green chillies slit

1 tbsp paprika powder

salt to taste

2 tbsp coriander chopped

1/4 yogurt

2 tbsp chopped mint

few strands saffron

2 tbsp golden fried onions

chapatti dough of two chapattis

Boil water in a pan and cook the penne till nearly done, remove from fire and drain. Put pasta in another pan to let it come to room temperature.

Take pasta, cut one piece into five — diagonally. Heat a handi, add olive oil, jeera and cook till the jeera is cooked and aromatic. Add cloves and cook further.

Add ginger and garlic and cook till the time it leaves the side. Add chopped onion and cook till golden brown. Add in the chopped tomatoes and cook on slow fire till a cooked chutney is ready. Add the paprika powder to be immediately followed by beaten yogurt. Cook for two minutes and add the diced mutton. Add the salt. Mix well and continue cooking on a slow fire till the mutton is nearly done. Check the mutton, remove any excess fat floating on top and check the seasoning.

Take an oven proof pan, arrange a layer of cooked mutton and top it with half the pasta. Sprinkle half the chopped coriander, chopped mint, slit green chillies and add half of the olives. Spread another layer of cooked mutton and repeat the same process with the remaining pasta and other ingredients.

Pour on top approximately half a cup of the pasta stalk. Give a generous sprinkle of saffron, melt the ghee and pour on top, sprinkle the golden fried onion. Roll out the chapatti dough and with wet palms cover the pan and seal it on the sides. Put in an oven for approximately 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, break the chapatti dough and serve hot.

Note: You can replace penne pasta with some other pasta too like small shell pasta.

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