Lamb Biryani Recipe

First off, Happy Chinese New Year everyone.

Jaki made Kedgeree the other night which was a first for us, we have never eaten it let alone made it. When i was in the Fire Service we had a cook called Dorris and she always tried to get us to try Kedgeree for breakfast but some how she could never coax us away from a full fat boys breakfast with extra chips and Cheese on toast on the side!

So when Jaki made the kedgeree we realised we were missing a lot of spices and the ones we do have are old and seem to have lost their flavour. Some of the packages of spice came from Spain and if Im honest they are never as good a quality as the ones we get in the UK. I suspect a lot of it comes across from North African but isn’t very fresh.

I’ve never found a Curry Powder in Spain that really has a good curry buzz and we have never been able to buy a really hot Chilli pepper. There’s a gap in the market as they will grow very well out there?

As a result we decided to throw out all our old spices and restock.

In Bristol we are very lucky to have an Indian Shop that sells just about everything you’d ever need for Indian/Asian Cooking as well as a huge Chinese Supermarket that is a bit expensive but is stocked to the brim with goodies.

I think both are open during the Covid crisis but last time I shopped in the sweet mart (they have a ‘take away’ section where you can buy freshly cooked curries and there are a few stools where you can sit and eat) they weren’t very good with their Social distancing.

I had my Covid Jab yesterday so the last thing I want to do is expose myself to the virus before I’ve built up any immunity.

So I thought I might be able to order a selection on line. Its not as good as being in the shop but probably cheaper. I can never wander around the shop without buying loads of stuff that wasn’t on my list. Fresh Coriander, lots of fresh chilli, Galangal and egg aubergines are always way too good to ignore.

But their website told me the web site is ‘undergoing maintenance’ so that wasn’t an option.

However, whilst I was on the site I saw this recipe fore Lamb Biryani and It just looked too good to ignore. I know some of you will want to have a go at this one (Ian) so I’ve copied it and its here for your consideration. Though this is the real deal and it will take a fair bit of preparation.

Interestingly they do offer cooking classes at the Sweet Mart which would be great fun.

When we were in Spain a group of us did a Paella class and it was fantastic. A great day great food and all the drinks you wanted. And we came away with some new skills.

I know this isnt exactly a breakfast blog but its impossible to find a Greasy Spoon thats open for business, when they are, Ill be back.

In the mean time, enjoy.

Lamb Biryani: serving: 4 adults

Ingredients:

For making rice:

Basmati Rice- 2.5 cups
Whole Black cardamom- 3-4 pcs
Whole Cloves – 4-5 pcs
Cinnamon Quills – Broken into small pieces – 1 teaspoon
Butter Ghee – 3 tablespoon
Dried Bay leaves- 3
Salt- to taste
Water- 5 cups (Double the amount of rice)

Instructions:

Cooking on stove top: Wash and drain the rice. One a deep bottomed non-stick pot, add the ghee and the other ingredients(cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves), slightly fry it and add the rice to this. Add the water and c over the pot and cook in medium flame. Cook until rice is fluffy and cooked. Set it aside.

Marinating the Lamb: First remove any excess fat from the lamb cubes. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and pour 2 tbsp lime juice, wash the meat and drain it.

Ingredients:

Boneless or bone-in lamb, cut into big cubes- 1 kg
Chili powder-1 tbsp (or to taste)
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Fennel powder-2 tbsp
Coriander powder-2 tbsp
Garam masala-2 tsp
Lemon juice- juice of half lemon
Salt- as required

Preparation:

Marinate the lamb with all the above ingredients and keep it aside for 30 – 45 minutes.

For making the Masala:

Onions- 6 (large sized) or 8 (medium sized) cut thin.
Ginger chopped- 3 tbsp
Garlic chopped-3 tbsp
Green chilies sliced- 3 tbsp (or depending upon how spicy you want)
Small onions chopped- 8
Tomatoes, chopped- 2
Yogurt- 1/2 cup
Curry leaves- 1 sprig (optional)
Coriander Leaves chopped- 1/3 cup
Whole Green Cardamom- 3
Whole Cloves-3
Cinnamon stick- 2 inch slice
Oil- 3 tbsp
Ghee-2 tbsp
Salt- to taste

Preparation:

In a pressure cooker, add ghee and oil, put the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and slightly fry it.
Add the onions and fry in the oil until translucent. Add curry leaves to this.
Coarsely grind garlic, ginger, green chilies and small onions in a blender.
Add the ground ginger/garlic/green chilies/small onion mix and cook until the onion starts to turn light brown.
Add the tomatoes and cook till it gets smashed.
Add the marinated lamb and give it a stir.
Now add the yogurt, mix everything . Add coriander and salt.
Cover the pressure cooker and cook in low-medium flame for 3-4 whistles or until the lamb is cooked well.
Open the cooker, if the masala is watery, turn the heat to high and cook uncovered until the masala has almost thickened.
Don’t make the masala too dry, it should need some gravy.

Layering Rice-Lamb masala and final cooking:

Ingredients:

Onion, cut thin vertically- 2
Cashew nuts, roasted – 1/4 cup
Raisins, roasted- 1/3 cup
Coriander chopped- 1/3 cup
Saffron strands – 2 pinches, soak in 2 tbsp milk for 15 minutes
Ghee- 3tbsp

Layering:

Fry onion in oil until golden brown and transfer into a paper towel, keep it aside.
Grease a large cooking pan with 1 tbsp ghee.
Add the first layer of lamb masala, then add one layer of cooked rice on top of this.
Pour 1tbsp ghee over the rice, sprinkle 1/2 of the saffron in milk on the rice, evenly spread half of the the fried onions, put half of the roasted cashew nuts and raisins, half of the chopped coriander on top of the rice.
Repeat this step one more time.
Finally, on top you will have the rice, garnished with saffron, fried onions, cashew nuts/raisins and Coriander.
Tightly seal the dish with aluminum foil and close it with its lid
Place on stove top with very low flame and cook for 15 minutes.
Enjoy the Lamb biryani with yoghurt or Pickle.

NB: Just found this on Twitter. Its a great Idea.