Recipe of the day: Hyderabadi lamb biryani

Hyderabadi lamb biryani is an amazingly delicious Indian dish with tender chunks of lamb in layers of fluffy rice, fragrant spices and fried onions.

Prep time: 90 min plus

Serves: 4 people

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• Spekko Long Grain Basmati White Rice
• Ingredients
• Oil for deep-frying, plus extra
• 5 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cups Spekko Basmati Extra Long Grain White Rice, soaked for 30 minutes
• Salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 green cardamom pods
• 20 black peppercorns
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• ½ tsp caraway seeds
• 10 cloves
• 1 cup full-cream yoghurt
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 thumb of ginger, grated
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• ½ cup fresh coriander leaves, torn
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves, torn
• 750 g lamb or mutton on the bone, cut into medium-sized pieces
• 4 tsp ghee
• 2 black cardamom pods
• 1 pinch saffron strands soaked in ¼ cup milk

Method

1. Heat oil for deep-frying. Fry half of the sliced onions until crisp, then drain and set aside.
2. Heat six cups of water in a deep pot. Drain the rice and add it to the pot of water with the bay leaves, green cardamom pods, half of the black peppercorns, and one cinnamon stick. Cook the rice halfway, then drain and discard the spices.
3. Mix the caraway seeds, one cinnamon stick, remaining peppercorns, half of the cloves, and remaining green cardamom pods together in a pestle and mortar. Grind to a fine powder.
4. Put the ground spice mix into a large bowl or dish with the yoghurt, one tablespoon of oil, chilli powder, garlic and ginger, coriander, and half of the mint.
5. Mix well, then add the lamb. Rub the yoghurt into the lamb, then cover and allow to marinate for at least two hours.
6. Heat two tablespoons of the ghee in a pot. Add the remaining cinnamon and black cardamom pods. Sauté until fragrant. Add the remaining onions and cook until golden.
7. Add the lamb, fry for a few minutes on high heat, then cover, reduce the heat, and cook until the lamb is soft, about 1½ hours.
8. Heat the remaining ghee in a deep cast-iron pot. Spread half the rice over the bottom. Add the cooked lamb, sprinkle with mint leaves and deep-fried onions (leaving a small handful aside for garnish). Cover with the remaining rice.
9. Drizzle over the saffron milk. Cover the pot with tin foil, then a fitted lid. Cook over low heat until the rice is cooked.

To serve

Serve hot, with extra deep-fried onion and fresh coriander on top, alongside a raita of your choice.

Supplied by: Spekko rice.co.za

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