This elegant queen of dishes, a sumptuous North Indian classic, combines the fragrance of basmati rice with garam masala and meltingly tender pieces of lamb.
The name, Biryani, was derived from a Persian word that meant fried or roasted. The dish originated in Persia and was brought to the Indian sub-continent by Persian traders.
Today there are as many variations of Biryani as there are cities in the sub-continent, the cooking of the dish having spread to Arabia and North Africa as well as to every other country that has been touched by the peoples of the Indian Sub-continent.
Traditionally served on auspicious occasions, this luxurious fare is fit for royalty.
Ingredients:
a good pinch of saffron strands 2ml cardamom seeds 2 blades mace 4 onions 100ml vegetable oil, plus extra for deep frying 8 cm ginger, peeled 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped 5ml chilli powder 1 lime, juice only 750 g lamb shoulder, cut into 4cm cubes 5 green cardamom 2 black cardamom 5 cm cinnamon sticks 6 whole cloves 2 dried bay leaves 5ml garam masala 3 green chillies, deseeded and sliced 200 ml Greek yogurt 450 g basmati rice handful mint leaves 30ml butter Method: Soak the saffron in 2 tablespoons of hot water and set aside until ready to use.
Cover the rice with cold water and leave to soak for 20 minutes. Ten minutes before the meat is ready, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drain the rice and add to the pan then cook for 5 minutes - it should be half-cooked and still have bite to it. Drain the rice in a colander.
Preheat the oven to 160C. Put half of the hot meat in the bottom of a clean casserole pan. Cover with half of the freshly boiled rice and sprinkle with half of the ground cardamom and mace spice mixture and half of the mint.
Top with the remaining meat and rice. Scatter over the rest of the spice mix, mint leaves, and the reserved fried sliced browned onions. Dot the surface with butter and drizzle over the saffron and its soaking liquid. Cover the biryani with wet greaseproof (waxed) paper and a well-fitting lid.
Bake for 40 minutes, until the rice is perfumed and perfectly cooked. Gently fluff up the grains with a fork and serve straight from the pan.
Using a mortar and pestle, pound the cardamom seeds and mace to a powder and leave on one side; you'll need this later when layering up the rice and meat.
Slice 2 of the onions then sprinkle them with salt and set aside for 20 minutes. Squeeze out any excess water from the onions and pat them dry with paper towels. Deep-fry the sliced onions in hot oil until golden and drain on paper towels. Reserve half for garnishing the biryani.
Transfer the remaining fried onions to a food processor, pour in 3 tablespoons of hot water then purée; you should have about 2 tablespoons of onion paste.
Finely grate half of the ginger and combine with the garlic, chilli powder, and lime juice in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the onion paste and add the lamb. Mix everything together and leave to marinate for 1 hour.
Dice the 2 remaining onions. Heat 6 tablespoons of oil in a large casserole pan set over a medium heat and soften the diced onions for 5 minutes, without colouring.
Slice the remaining ginger into fine strips and set aside. Add the green and black cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves to the pan. Fry for about 30 seconds, until you get a warm, spicy aroma.
Tip in the meat and its marinade and add the garam masala, green chillies, and ginger strips. Bring to simmering point and gradually add the yogurt, a tablespoon at a time. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, until the lamb is tender and the masala thickened; the sauce should be well-reduced and almost clinging to the meat.
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