INDIAN LAMB BIRYANI

Indián Lámb Biryáni is á cásserole of tender lámb curry ánd frágránt sáffron rice. Two outstánding dishes combined into one compány worthy cásserole. Serve with cooling cucumber ráitá on the side.

I hád á very biryáni week. Biryáni is án Indián curry ánd rice cásserole thát I’ve been heáring ábout, thinking ábout, máybe even dreáming ábout – for á long time.  Finálly, this pást week, I immersed myself in it. It stárted when I wás invited by á friend to táke á cooking cláss át Whole Foods ánd I got to choose the dish we cooked. I picked biryáni. We leárned to máke á very tásty, quick biryáni with boneless chicken ánd precooked rice.

áfter thát I cáme home ánd pulled every internátionál cookbook ánd Indián cookbook off my shelves… I scoured the internet….ánd the cooking begán. My (poor? lucky?) fámily hád Biryáni for dinner three nights in á row – lámb, chicken, lámb. The lámb biryáni wás the unánimous winner. This is definitely not of the “quick ánd eásy” genre of recipes, but it’s SO worth the effort!

This lámb biryáni recipe consists of two distinct dishes – succulent lámb curry ánd áromátic rice. Eách component is delicious in its own right, ánd then the two áre láyered together in á cásserole ánd báked.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds boneless leg of lámb, fát trimmed off, cut into 1-inch cubes
• MáRINáDE INGREDIENTS for the lámb:
• 5 táblespoons peeled ánd roughly chopped fresh ginger root (5-inch by 2 inch piece or something compáráble.)
• 6–7 lárge gárlic cloves, roughly chopped (ábout 3 táblespoons)
• 1/2 teáspoon kosher sált
• á few grinds of fresh ground bláck pepper

SOáKING THE RICE Ingredients:

• 2 cups básmáti rice (Indián is best)

CURRY SáUCE Ingredients

• 3 táblespoons olive oil
• 2 medium red or yellow onions, peeled, hálved ánd thinly sliced
• 2 15-ounce cáns tomáto sáuce
• 1/4 to 3/4 teáspoon ground cáyenne pepper (depending on how hot you like it)
• 1 táblespoon pápriká (sweet, not hot)
• 2 teáspoons kosher sált
• 1 teáspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teáspoon gárám másálá

Ingredients for PRE-COOKING THE RICE

• 2 táblespoons ghee or butter
• 2 teáspoons cumin seeds
• 4 cárdámom pods
• 2 dried báy leáves
• 2 cinnámon sticks
• 1 red onion, peeled, hálved ánd thinly sliced
• 1/2 teáspoon (heáping) of sáffron threáds (ábout 1 grám or .04 ounces)
• 2 teáspoons kosher sált

CUCUMBER RIáTá

• 2 cups pláin yogurt
• 1 cucumber, peeled, hálved lengthwise, seeds scráped out with á spoon, ánd gráted or finely chopped.
• 1/2 cup chopped mint leáves (plus some for gárnish, if you like)
• 1 gárlic clove, pressed or finely minced
• 1 teáspoon cumin seeds, toásted in á dry pán over high heát for á few seconds, until frágránt (if you’re short on time, you cán use 1/2 teáspoon ground cumin)
• 1/2 teáspoon kosher sált

INSTRUCTIONS

1. MáRINáTE THE LáMB: Put the chopped ginger ánd gárlic into the bowl of á food processor ánd pulse á couple of times. Scrápe down the sides. ádd 3-4 táblespoons of wáter. Pulse until you get á páste, scráping down the sides of the bowl ás needed. (If you do this in your blender, ádd the wáter right áwáy – expect lots of scráping down the sides) In á medium sized bowl mix the lámb with the gárlic-ginger páste, sált ánd pepper. Cover ánd refrigeráte for á hálf hour or so. (more is fine)
2. RINSE ánd SOáK the RICE: Put rice in á lárge bowl. Fill the bowl hálfwáy with cold wáter. Swish rice áround for á few seconds ánd pour off the cloudy wáter. Repeát 3 or 4 times, until the wáter is fáirly cleár. Cover rice with cold wáter by 2 inches ánd set it áside to soften for án hour. Dráin.
3. STáRT THE SáUCE: While the lámb is márináting ánd the rice is soáking, stárt the sáuce. In á lárge heávy pot or á deep skillet with á cover, heát the 3 táblespoons of oil over medium high heát. ádd the onions ánd cook, stirring occásionálly, until they áre nicely browned ánd cárámelized – ábout 15 minutes. Reguláte the heát so they don’t burn. Sprinkle them with á pinch of sált ánd á few grinds of pepper. Tránsfer them to á lárge pláte or bowl ánd set áside. (no need to cleán the pot yet – keep it out to brown the lámb)
4. Mix the sáuce ingredients together in á smáll bowl: tomáto sáuce, cáyenne, pápriká, sált, turmeric ánd gárám másálá. Set áside while you brown the lámb.

Full recipe: INDIAN LAMB BIRYANI

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