A Spice That Needs To Soak

How I learned to humble myself and talk differently around Big Saffron

Growing up, I was familiar with saffron, conceptually. Saffron was definitely in the family of spices, but a long distance, extended family member. One where you know their name, you share their blood, you know you’ll see them at some Puja or gathering, where you acknowledge their presence and relation and that’s enough. 

Other than its striking color, the other fact I knew about saffron was that it was the most expensive spice in our cupboard, making reasonable cameos in Paisams, (milk based desserts, used often as temple offerings).

India as a country, is a highly regional one, and as a Tamilian Iyengar immigrant in Texas, saffron was a special occasion spice. A spice for a sweet, a spice for a very specific savory dish. 

It wasn’t until I got very serious about honing my style of Biryani, (Hyderabadi technique meets cast iron skillets, for one) , that I realized what I’ve been taking for granted. 

I love the dish for many reasons; my father introduced me to Biryani as a child, it’s always high stakes to make, (you seal the dish and do not open until it is done), but I especially love Biryani because it helped me understand how incredibly powerful saffron can be, when you allow it to bloom. 

In Hyderabadi Biryani, saffron is the last ingredient added to a very long step of assembling your rice and meat, spice, fried onions, just so. 

Saffron is soaking in milk, and right before you seal the dish to be cooked to, hopefully, perfection, you add a small cup of orange hued milk. When you open the Biryani, it is the saffron that is the most notable spice at first. As you mix your Biryani to get all the layers and different textures of rice, towards the bottom the marinated meat, it is the saffron infiltrating the layers with ease. It’s incredible to witness. A real time lesson in the worth of saffron. You just gotta let it soak, give it the time it deserves to be a force to be reckoned with, saffron will permeate and collaborate with facile joy at every layer. 

As useful as that might be for allegories and daily affirmations, today I will use the idea of letting saffron soak for these Mango Saffron Chocolate Chip cookies. 

 Coming soon: 

A new iteration of BBQ & Biryani, I’m collaborating with the exciting minds behind Zoe Tong and their BBQ trailer Sí-Baby Q for a four day BBQ Biryani menu in July, dubbed Biryani Baby! Stay tuned for the preorder link!

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Mango Saffron Chocolate Chip Cookies Makes 20-24 cookies 

I developed this recipe for a BBQ Biryani collaboration with the extraordinary Distant Relatives here in Austin, TX. We sold out twice over on our menu and these cookies helped stave off a lot of customer’s wait times as we cooked bigger batches of Oxtail Biryani. They are just that good, to soothe hungry patrons, waiting on Biryani is no small feat.

Ingredients: