First start by soaking the rice in water and then begin preparing the following:
To make the onion spices:
In 5 tbsp of oil at medium heat:
Add half of the:
Cinnamon, Cloves, Star Anise and Bay leaf. Fry for 1 minuteAdd all of the onion sliced into pieces and half of the salt.
stir and cover with lid on low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After 10 minutes remove the lid and add:
half the Garlic, Ginger, Tumeric, Garam Masala, Biriyani Masala, Coriander pdr, Cumin pdr. Stir often and continue until the onion has lost a lot of water and is quite caramelised. Remove from heat and put aside.
To make the meat spices:.
In 3 tbsp of oil at medium heat:
Add the remaining half of the:
Cinnamon, Cloves, Star Anise and Bay leaf. Fry for 1 minuteAdd all of the lamb diced into 1/2 ince x 1/2 inch pieces and the remaining half of the salt, biriyani masala, garlic, ginger, tumeric, coriander pdr, cloves pdr, garam masala.
Also add the Meat Masala now.
Stir over medium heat. The meat will lose some liquid and make a juicy sauce. Continue to fry over a gentle heat until most of this moisture is evaporated and the meat is almost dry. The idea here is to remove most of the moisture, but not make it bone dry.
Now for the rice preparation:
Drain the soaking water from the rice. Put the rice into a microwave-safe bowl and fill with water until the water level is 1cm above the rice. you want to par-cook the rice. I would say that 8 mins is sufficient in the standard microwave.
Once the rice is finished it\'s time to start making the biriyani:
You want a large ovenproof pot or casserole dish with a lid. It\'s important to seal the lid with either alfoil or a very simple dough made from flour and water and kneaded slightly. In the pot add :
1/2 of the onion spice mix and spread evenly. Then add 1/2 the meat mix and spread evenly.
Then addhalf of the rice mixture.
Repeat the layering process with the remaining halves of ingredients in a similar fashion.
You then need to fill the pot with water until the water level is visibly equal with the level of the rice. This should ensure enough liquid for the rice to absorb during cooking.
Heat the oven to 300ºF or 150ºCSeal the lid on the pot with either alfoil, or by running a layer of dougn around the rim of the pot and then pressing the lid on to make a seal. You do not want water to escape. Rather the rice will absorb the water and flavours from the meat and onion mixes to make an incredibly delicate flavoured biriyani.
Place the pot in the oven for approx 2 hours. When done, open the lid and test the rice to see it is done. Dig in a little. If it seems a little dry, add 1 cup water and cook another 30min. If it\'s fine...time to EAT!
Serves 10 ( half the recipe for 5 ppl)
You can enjoy this dish with a Raita : 1/2 red onion sliced finely. Add this to 1 cup natural greek style yoghurt with 1 tsp lemon juice and 1/4 tsp salt. This will make enough yoghurt for 2 ppl so scale this recipe up for larger groups.
To serve : Using a serving spoon, encourage guests to dig in and explore the layers of rice and flavoursome meet and onion. Then spook raita over the rice and dig in...
It is a truely amazing dish with all the TRUE flavours of India
