Pleasure In Every Spoon Indian Muttonlamb Biryani Recipes

PLEASURE IN EVERY SPOON INDIAN MUTTON/LAMB BIRYANI

Steps:

• Soak rice for 5-6 hours in water, drain and keep aside.
• Cut half the ginger into juliennes and make a paste of the rest.
• Soak saffron in warm milk and keep aside.
• Marinate the mutton or lamb in a large bowl for 4 hours in a cool place, in a mixture of yogurt, turmeric powder, salt and 1 tbsp.
• each of ginger and garlic pastes.
• Heat oil in a wok and fry half of the onions in it until brown and crisp.
• Drain on a paper towel and keep aside.
• Cook rice in salted 7 cups of boiling water alongwith the cloves, cinnamon, black and green cardamoms and peppercorns till the rice is almost cooked.
• Strain and keep rice warm.
• Heat ghee in a pressure cooker or a thick-bottomed pan.
• Add the remaining sliced onions and green chillies.
• Stir-fry till the onions turn light golden.
• Stir in the remaining ginger and garlic pastes.
• Stir-fry until the raw smell of the same is gone.
• Add the marinated mutton or lamb.
• Cook on high flame for 8 minutes.
• Mix in corriander, cumin and red chilli powders.
• Stir in 3 cups of boiling water.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce flame and cook covered till the mutton is almost cooked.
• Add tomatoes, salt and half of the garam masala powder and the fresh corriander leaves.
• Cook for 15 minutes on medium flame, stirring occasionally.
• If you are using a pressure cooker to cook the mutton or lamb, add chopped tomatoes, salt, garam masala powder, 2 cups of water and chopped fresh corriander leaves after adding the dry spices.
• Pressure cook till the mutton is almost cooked.
• (It normally takes 2-3 whistles to cook).
• Ensure that the cooked mutton does not have a thin gravy.
• If that is the case, cook on high flame to reduce the gravy.
• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Arrange half the quantity of cooked mutton in an oven-proof dish.
• Spread half the quantity of cooked rice on top of the mutton.
• Sprinkle a little of the remaining garam masala powder, mint leaves, saffron dissolved in warm milk and half each of ginger juliennes.
• Dot the rice with half the quantity of butter.
• Spread the remaining mutton on top of the rice, followed by cooked rice and repeat the earlier process with the remaining quantity of ginger juliennes, saffron milk, garam masala powder, mint leaves and butter.
• Cover it with aluminium foil.
• Cook in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes at 180C.
• Garnish with the fried sliced onions and serve with mixed fruit and vegetable raita as an accompaniment.
• Enjoy!

SPECIAL LAMB BIRYANI

Steps:

• Mix the lamb with the spice blend, yogurt, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Leave at room temperature for at least 30 mins or chill overnight.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and cook the onions over a low-medium heat for 15-20 mins until caramelised. Meanwhile, rinse the rice three times under cold water. Drain, then cover with fresh water and leave for 30 mins.
• Transfer the onions to a bowl, add the remaining oil to the pan and brown the lamb in batches. If the marinade starts to catch, scrape it from the bottom of the pan and keep stirring - it'll add to the flavour. Tip the meat back into the pan with the garlic and ginger. Cook for another minute or 2, then add the tomatoes and 200ml water (swill the water around the dish the lamb was marinating in to pick up all the marinade before adding it to the pan). Season with salt and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 45 mins, stirring now and then and topping up with a splash of water if the sauce is catching. You can now chill the lamb for up to two days.
• Pour away the rice water, cover with fresh water and season. Bring to the boil, bubble for 2 mins, then drain and leave to cool. Put the saffron in a bowl, pour over 50ml boiling water and leave for 10 mins to steep.
• Smear 50g butter inside a casserole dish. Sprinkle over a little of the Indian spice mix and some salt. To assemble the biryani, start with 1/3 of the lamb, top with 1/3 of the rice, 1/3 of the onions, a cinnamon stick, a couple of cardamom pods, a few bay or curry leaves and a star anise. Repeat until all of the ingredients have been used up. Spoon the saffron and its water over the final layer of rice, dot with the remaining butter and season with salt. You can now chill it for up to 24 hrs.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Unroll the pastry and cut into a circle a little larger than the dish. Brush a little egg around the outside lip of the dish, then lift the pastry on top, pressing it around the edge to seal. Brush with more egg and sprinkle with nigella seeds. Bake for 45-50 mins until golden brown. Mix the herbs and onion, and serve with the biryani and extra yogurt.