Lamb Biriyani

“Laughter is brightest in the place where food is.” – Irish Proverb 

It is an Irish Proverb but applies to the world.

With every week being one biriyani or another, I have now mastered the tricks of the trade.  I usually start my preparations the night before. My first step is to make the ginger garlic paste and refrigerate it for use later. Then get on with the marinade. Once this is done, the next day is a breeze. 

Imagine calling Biriyani a breeze. But seriously, it is. It just involves a whole lot of mini steps. Once you get each out of the way, then it is just putting it all together. 

Marination Process

Day 1 night :

Marination :  

Lamb : 1300 gms - Chopped into medium sized pieces

Curd - 1 Cup

Onions -  1 - Sliced long

Tomatoes - 2 - Sliced long

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli Powder - 2 Tbsp.

Coriander Powder - 2 Tbsp.

Garam Masala - 3/4 tsp

Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp

Meat Masala - 2 Tbsp. ( Any kind of your choice)

Salt 

Mix the meat well in the above spices and marinate for 5-6 hours or overnight.

Next Day : 

For the Mutton Gravy :

Onion - 1 - Large - sliced long

Ginger Garlic and  Green Chilli ( I used 5 Green chillies) paste - 2.5 Tbsp.

Cinnamon Stick - 2 

Cardamoms - 3

Cloves - 5 

Corrinader Leaves - 1/2 Cup

Mint Leaves - 1/4th Cup 

Preparing the gravy :

1. Heat Oil in a pan and add all the whole spices.

2. Add the sliced onions and cook till the onions turn soft.

3. Now add the ginger, garlic and Chilli paste and cook till the raw smell dissipates.

4. To this, add the marinated meat and mix well.  Add coriander and mint leaves. 

5. Add a Cup of water and pressure cook the mutton ( 5 whistles on medium high worked for me) 

6. Once the pressure is released, check for seasoning. A bit of excess gravy will be there. We will use this to cook rice. So its fine.

7. Check for seasoning. Add salt or Garam Masala if needed. Keep aside. 

For the Rice : 

Jeeraga Samba Rice - 3 Cups  - Soaked in water for 1 hour

Cinnamon - 2 sticks

Cloves - 6

Cardamom - 4

Mace - 4 slivers

Bay Leaves - 3 

Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Water - 3 Cups

Mutton Gravy - 2.5 Cups ( From the pressure cooked meat)

Rice Preparation : 

1. Heat a deep pan and add some ghee/oil. (I did not add ghee this time as my meat had a lot of fat and I did not want it to be too oily. )

2.  Throw in all the whole spices. Do not allow them to burn.

3. Now, add water. For 3 Cups rice, I will need 5 and 1/2 Cups water.  I took 2.5 Cups of stock from the cooked mutton gravy and used 3 Cups water to make up 5 and 1/2 cups liquid needed to cook the rice. 

4. Once the water comes to a boil, add about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and add the drained rice. 

5. Cook till the water is absorbed and the rice is about 80 percent cooked. 

6. Switch off the flame and leave the rice covered for 10-15 minutes. The heat in the pan, will still cook the rice, so leave it undisturbed. 

7. Keep aside. 

For the Dum and Garnish : 

Cashews - 1 Tbsp.

Raisins - 1 Tbsp.

Heat ghee in a pan and roast the cashews and raisins and keep ready. 

Onions - thinly sliced - 1 Large

Fry the onions to a deep brown and keep aside for garnish. I always shallow fry the onions, you can choose to deep fry it if you like. 

The Dum process - Using Oven.

Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees Fahrenheit. 

In an oven safe deep bowl, line the bottom with the lamb gravy. Now top it with rice and cover the whole of the meat gravy. 

Now, add the fried onions, cashews and raisins over the rice. 

Add few mint leaves and sprinkle some garam masala all over the rice. 

Add one more layer of meat and repeat the process.

Top with fried onions, cashews, Mint leaves and raisins. 

Cover with two layers of foil paper tightly and cook for 20 minutes at 400 Degrees Fahrenheit. 

Serve hot with raita of your choice.