Lamb Biryani Recipe

I've been cooking again! And much to my mother's dismay, the camera was out and I was fervently taking notes to share with you all.

Biryani is a rice dish with many different flavours running through it and as such is usually eaten just on its own; needing no curry to accompany it. There are many different types of biryani from different parts of the world, incorporating different meats and different flavours. The recipe that follows is called Bombaby Biryani according to my mum but I'm not sure of the origins and I'm sure that it has been amended as it's been passed down the family.

You need time and patience with the recipe; it's not something you can quickly whip up but the results are well worth the effort.

Ingredients

1kg lamb/mutton (If you use mutton like I did, I recommend the use of a pressure cooker)

1kg rice (soak in water for 1 hour before you start cooking.)

2 medium onions

1 garlic

2 inches of ginger

300g yoghurt

3 tomatoes

Ground spices: salt, red pepper, ground coriander seeds, garam masala

Whole spices: peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon sticks, black/brown cardamoms, cumin seeds, bay leaves, green cardamoms (Whole spices on the web: the asian cookshop (UK), Whole Spice (US).) 

Dried plums (These are optional but I highly recommend you include these in the dish. They add a tangy flavour to the biryani and for me, are the best part of it.)

Rose water (optional; for aroma.)

Fresh mint (chopped)

Fresh coriander (chopped)

Saffron (this is expensive so alternatively use yellow food colouring. This will give the same colour but unfortunately not the lovely aroma of saffron)

2 tbsps milk

Recipe

Heat 6 tablespoons of oil in the pressure cooker. Chop the onions and add to the oil. The aim is to soften the onions, not brown them, so keep the heat sufficiently low.

While the onions are softening, peel the garlic and ginger and crush using a pestle and mortar. Alternatively you can use a food processor or use frozen/store bought crushed garlic and ginger.

Add the crushed ginger and garlic to the onions and combine, allowing to cook with the onions for several minutes.

Sorry vegetarians but here comes the meat part. The lamb/mutton should be in smallish pieces and well washed. Add to the onions and turn the heat to a medium flame. Stir the ingredients until the meat is well incorporated. Stir occasionally until the meat turns brown.

Now add the yoghurt and mix well. At this point, you should add the tomatoes (chopped). As you can see, I did not do this but afterwards we all agreed that the dish would have benefited from the inclusion of the tomatoes. Add the ground spices (2 tsps salt, 1 tsp red pepper, 2 tsps ground coriander seeds).

Add 2 cups of water to the mixture. Add the lid of the pressure cooker and turn up to a full heat.

When the cooker starts whistling (see above video) turn down to medium heat for another 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes are up, turn off the heat and move the pressure cooker off the stove (do not remove the lid).

Now boil some water in a pan for the rice. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and the following whole spices: 10 peppercorns, 8 cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks, 3 black cardamom, 6 green cardamom, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 3 bay leaves, 5 dried plums.

Boil for another 5 minutes. Drain the soaked rice and add to the boiling water. Let the rice come to the boil and keep boiling until they are cooked 3/4 of the way through. Test this by squashing them between your fingertips; they should break into three neat pieces. Drain the rice and return half of it to the pan.

Open up the pressure cooker (make sure all the steam has escaped by taking the top widget off the lid). Using a slotted spoon, add all the drained meat on top of the rice. Keep the sauce you have drained off. Add the remaining half of the rice on top of the layer of meat. Depending on the amount of meat and the width of your pan, you may want to make more than one layer of meat; alternating meat and rice.

Poke holes in the rice with the handle of a spoon. At this point, soak some saffron in the milk. Alternatively, put a small amount of yellow food colouring in the milk. Using a teaspoon, add the milk next to all the holes you have made.

Now gently pour the sauce from the meat you kept from earlier over the rice, aiming for the holes you made in the rice. Sprinkle the fresh chopped mint and coriander over the rice. Add 2 teaspoons of rose water, spreading over the rice. Now sprinkle the garam masala over the leaves.

Return the pan to a medium heat and cover with a lid (not the lid for the pressure cooker itself, just something fairly loose). After 3-4 minutes, or when some steam has built up within the pan, lower the heat and leave for another 20 minutes. The rice will then be ready to serve. Because of the immense amount of flavours, I usually serve this dish with plain yoghurt, sometimes sprinkling black pepper on it for presentation.

Keeping a lid on the pan on a very low heat should keep the biryani warm until serving time.