Go Back
Print

LAMB BIRYANI

This classic Indian meat and rice dish is like a party in your mouth! Complex in flavours. And can easily be made vegetarian with a few quick switch ups. Feel free to halve the recipe.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword biryani, ginger, lamb, rice
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1.5 tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 1.5 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1.5 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp cardamom seeds , removed from the pods
  • 1-2 inch cinnamon stick , broken up
  • 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 10 whole cloves
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp saffron threads
  • 2 tbsp boiling water
  • 3 tbsp canola or olive oil
  • 4 large onions , thinly slices (slice from the north to the south poles!) about 6 cups
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger , chopped
  • 1 tsp fresh turmeric , grated or finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic , minced
  • 2 lb lamb (shoulder cut or chops) cut into 1" cubes
  • 1.5 cups of greek yogurt
  • 2 cups basmati rice
  • 2 fresh red chilli peppers
  • 3 tbsp sliced or slivered almonds
  • 2 tbsp currants , plumped up in boiling water and then drained
  • 2 fresh serrano peppers , sliced, or 1 tbsp pickled jalapeños
  • 3 tbsp fresh cilantro , loosely chopped

Instructions

SPICE MIXTURE

  1. Combine the peppercorns through cloves in a small bowl. Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add all the spices. Cook for about 60 seconds, till fragrant, shaking pan to move the spices around. But don't burn. Remove from pan into a spice or coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Let cool. Then grind as fine as you can get (the cinnamon will be the most challenging) Add the cayenne and salt.

  2. In a small bowl add the saffron and crush with the back of a spoon to make the fronds smaller. Add the boiling water. Stir and set aside for the rice.

TO MAKE THE LAMB

  1. Heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion slices. Cook until well browned. This could take 10-15 minutes. Once all browned, removed 2/3 of the onions for later.

  2. Add the chopped ginger and turmeric. Saute with the onions for a 1 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another minute.  Don't let the garlic burn- reduce heat if necessary.

  3. Bring the heat back up the medium high. Push the onion garlic mixture to the edges and add the lamb cubes. Add a bit of oil if necessary. Brown well on the first side (don't move the lamb pieces around). 

    Add the spice blend you made earlier and stir in well. Add the greek yogurt. Stir once, the yogurt should be just starting to bubble away. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook till the lamb is tender, about 45 minutes to an hour. Check at 45 minutes though.

RICE

  1. While the lamb is cooking, prepare the rice: Place the rice in a strainer over a bowl. Run cold water over the rice, stirring it with your hands in the strainer, and then draining the water. Keep doing this until the water in the bowl is clear. Then leave the rice in the strainer in the bowl with clear water to sit for about 30 minutes.
  2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drain the rice well and add to the pot. After the water returns to the boil, cook for 5 minutes. Drain it and return to an empty bowl. 

    Drizzle the saffron water over the rice.

  3. Preheat oven to 350F.

  4. Take a large lidded casserole dish or braising pan that will hold all the rice and lamb, and spray or butter it lightly.

  5. Take the rice and spread 1/3 of it in the dish. Spread half of the lamb mixture evenly over the rice. Repeat with another 1/3 of the rice, and then the other half of the lamb. Top with the remaining rice. Add the red chilli peppers to the top.
  6. Cover with tin foil. Then place the lid on top of the foil to create a tight seal
  7. Bake for 40 minutes. When you remove from the oven, be careful when you remove the foil- there will be steam.
  8. At this point you will be removing the top layer of rice, and setting aside temporarily.
  9. Combine the remaining lamb and rice in the casserole dish. Taste and adjust any seasonings. Add 2 tbsp of the fresh cilantro to the mixture. Pile this up on a serving platter or bowl. Cover with the remaining rice.
  10. Strew the remaining onions you sautéed earlier over the entire dish. Garnish with the almonds, currants and sliced serrano peppers. Top with the red chili peppers and see if anyone will grab one!

Recipe Notes

LENTIL (VEGETARIAN) VERSION: TO BE PREPARED BEFORE YOU BEGIN SAUTÉING THE ONIONS

1 1/4 cups of dry, clean brown or green lentils

2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock Rinse the lentils in a strainer using cold water.

Transfer the lentils to a medium saucepan. Add the stock. Bring to a rapid simmer over medium high heat and then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes. They should be just shy of tender. Drain. Once you have reached the point where you have sauteed the ginger and garlic, you can then add the lentils, spice blend and the yogurt. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cover. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer until the lentils are tender, about 10 more minutes. (check to see if there is enough liquid- if not, add a bit of water to get the lentils cooked to tender)

At this point you can layer with the rice and continue with the recipe.