Being ill is terrible. We both fell ill the day after Boxing Day and down we went with terrible colds and pounding headaches. Today is one of many with a terrible cough and I’m sure I’ll be coughing over everyone at work tomorrow (apologies in advance). Anyway, I wanted to blog this earlier but it’s had to wait until the new year (Happy new year, everyone!) until I was able to – so here it is. Leftover pork belly biryani. Sure there’s nothing authentic about adding pork (!) to a biryani but gosh it’s good and that’s how we used up the leftovers from Christmas dinner.
I’m not talking about an all in one spiced rice dish but a proper biryani made of layers of curry and rice. It’s not difficult but it takes a bit of time and the result is something that feels quite celebratory. The original recipe on which it’s based is a Pakistani biryani and I’m now keen to try making biryanis from the rest of the region (I do have a Thai biryani recipe on the blog).
If you don’t have any pork belly to hand, this would work with any leftover meat (anything from a Sunday roast would do nicely). Of course, if you have no leftover meat, add about 800g fresh meat cut into chunks and added to the curry after the garlic and tomatoes – you’ll need to adjust the cooking time, of course, to ensure that the meat is tender.
Leftover Pork Belly Biryani
Adapted from this recipe.
serves about 4-6.
For the onions
3 tbsps sunflower oil
3 medium-large onions
For the curry
3 tbsps sunflower oil
2 tbsps garam masala
1 tsp crushed chilli flakes
1/2 tsp turmeric
10 black peppercorns
6 green cardamom pods
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 medium tomatoes, chopped finely
2-3 green chillies (more or less), minced
thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced
about 500g leftover roast meat and other suitable things, all cut in bite sized chunks (I used roast pork belly and pigs in blankets and sauteed sprouts)
salt to taste
125 ml plain yogurt
a small handful of chopped coriander
For the rice
650 ml basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
8 black peppercorns
5 green cardamom pods
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 small stick cinnamon
salt
To finish the biryani
1/2 tsp saffron threads
a small handful of chopped coriander
Start with the onions. Slice them finely and then fry them in the oil over medium-high heat until dark brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
For the curry, in a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the first six spices and fry for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add the garlic, tomatoes, chillies and ginger and continue cooking, stirring once in a while, for about 3 minutes. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the chopped leftover meat, salt to taste, and continue cooking, covered, for 10 minutes. Finally, uncover the pot and stir in the yogurt and coriander and continue cooking over low heat for another 15 minutes. Take off the heat and leave it in the pot.
Crush the saffron threads and pour over about 125ml of hot water. Set aside.
Set 1 litre of water to boil in a large pan and add all the ingredients for the rice (salt to taste). Let cook for about 5 minutes until the rice is al dente. A lot of the water will have soaked up. Drain and set aside.
Now to assemble and finish the biryani. Back to the curry pot. Take out half the curry and set aside. Spread the remaining curry in one layer. Add half the rice and spread that over the curry evenly. Drizzle over half the saffron water and mix it gently into the rice layer. Put the rest of the curry into a second even layer over the rice and finally layer over the second half of the rice and saffron water. Cover and place over low heat and allow to steam together for 10 minutes. Top with the chopped coriander and serve.
Thu, 3 Jan, 2013 at 00:18
This looks amazing, trad or not. I’ve got some pork cheeks in my freezer that would be perfect for this ….
Wed, 16 Jan, 2013 at 11:08
Pork cheeks would be amazing! I’m tempted to make it again with this great idea – thanks!
Thu, 3 Jan, 2013 at 00:25
Fantastic. I will certainly be making this.
Wed, 16 Jan, 2013 at 11:09
It’ll be grand! I’m hoping to try other biryani recipes too.
Thu, 3 Jan, 2013 at 01:30
I love the vibrant colors! I’ve never attempted to make a biryani before — a bit too intimidated — but yours looks delicious!
Wed, 16 Jan, 2013 at 11:17
It turns out it’s quite straightforward! Yes, there are a lot of steps but each is easy should you have all the spices to hand. Do try it!
Wed, 16 Jan, 2013 at 17:15
Straightforward sounds do-able. It’s when steps get complicated that I get lost and give up…
Thu, 3 Jan, 2013 at 11:14
This sounds wonderful – great use for leftovers! Hope you are feeling better now!
Wed, 16 Jan, 2013 at 11:33
Thank you, Alicia! This pesky cold still remains – it’s a tough one!
Thu, 3 Jan, 2013 at 11:25
looks amazing! happy 2013 🙂
Wed, 16 Jan, 2013 at 11:51
Happy 2013, kat!
Fri, 4 Jan, 2013 at 00:30
What a great idea! Although the likelihood of there being leftover pork belly in my house is slim, very slim… 😉
Wed, 16 Jan, 2013 at 12:04
😀 Then, gosh darn it, you’re just going to have to start from scratch!
Tue, 8 Jan, 2013 at 14:49
I’m afraid there’s no such thing as left-over pork chez nous; after a bad bout of food poisoning, anything not eaten on the day goes into the bin! But, maybe we can try it with fresh pork?
Wed, 16 Jan, 2013 at 12:09
Oh no! Sorry to hear about your previous food poisoning – it’s terrible. But yes, you can definitely try it with fresh pork. Just cook the meat in the curry until tender.
Thu, 10 Jan, 2013 at 18:58
This sounds delicious! I shall have to commit to stocking my spice cupboard 😉
Wed, 16 Jan, 2013 at 12:52
Always well worth having a well stocked spice cupboard. Mine’s absolutely insane though and really needs an organising…or I need more space!
Fri, 11 Jan, 2013 at 17:00
You so have my sympathy! I was in London and got sick on boxing day, too!
hope you are better now. the biryani looks so yum.
Wed, 16 Jan, 2013 at 13:10
Thank you! This cold is awful, isn’t it? I hope you’re over yours now!
Tue, 15 Jan, 2013 at 08:56
[…] Leftover Pork Belly Biryani (tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com) […]
Fri, 18 Jan, 2013 at 15:33
This is the second recipe I just found on your site. It sounds and looks great. Brilliant photographs. Also, because i run a catering business in Perth, Western Australia, we do have a lot of pork belly leftovers. Now I know what to do with them, to avoid having to throw them away.
Thanks
Wed, 13 Feb, 2013 at 22:44
Gasp! Pork belly leftovers must be cherished! 😀 I hope the recipe works for you!
Sun, 20 Jan, 2013 at 13:31
Excellent recipe….YUM!
Wed, 13 Feb, 2013 at 22:45
Thank you!
Mon, 28 Jan, 2013 at 21:08
everything is cool but pork.
Wed, 13 Feb, 2013 at 22:45
Well, I did say it was inauthentic!
Tue, 13 Aug, 2013 at 23:52
I will be trying this in Beijing
Thu, 26 Sep, 2013 at 16:42
Just made this and it’s amazing. I think the fact that the pork is a day old makes it even better. Thank you
Wed, 17 Sep, 2014 at 02:03
Great meal. Shame I had to throw out the sautéed onions…
Sat, 6 Dec, 2014 at 14:20
This looks amazing and I’m planning to make it tomorrow with some leftover pork belly! I have one question: where do the sauteed onions fit into the final dish? Thank you!
Mon, 8 Dec, 2014 at 20:46
Whoops! I’ve only just seen this! Layer the onions with the curry and rice!
Wed, 29 Mar, 2017 at 06:49
Thank you SO much – this was absolutely amazing! Took a LONG time to prepare and cook, but was worth it. Definite fave for leftover pork belly! ❤
Sat, 8 Apr, 2017 at 16:45
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Now I’m thinking of making it again too…
Mon, 26 Nov, 2018 at 19:58
Thanks for sharing Aventure
Fri, 18 Oct, 2019 at 20:22
I didn’t want to bother doing a biryani with my left over pound of pork belly, but the curry part of the recipe sounded so good I just had to try it. I made the curry portion as written, except because there is no garam masala where I live (Greece), I used regular curry powder instead. I used 2 small cans of tomatoes since I didn’t have fresh. Since there weren’t any fresh green chilis in the market, I used one small red chili. I also increased the braising time a bit which was need to soften up the leftover pork. FABULOUS. Served it over basmati rice boiled with a bay leaf, couple of cloves and a small cinnamon stick. Great curry recipe. Will be making it again with all sorts of leftover meat. I’m thinking chicken here and lamb. Would probably also be great with frozen shrimp. Terrific recipe.