Lighter Lamb Biryani Recipes

Steps:

• Soak the rice in 2 cups (480 ml) of water for about 2 hours.
• Add the chopped onion, 2 tablespoons slivered almonds, garlic, ginger, and 3 tablespoons of water to a food processor. Blend into a paste.
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and fry until browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
• Add the raisins to the pan. Stir until they become plump, about 2 minutes, then remove and drain on paper towels.
• Add the lamb to the pan, in batches if necessary, and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the browned meat to a bowl and set aside.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion paste to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, until the paste turns light brown. If it sticks to the bottom of the pan, add a bit of water and keep stirring.
• Return the meat and any accumulated juices to the pan. Add 1¼ teaspoons of salt, the yogurt, and 1 cup (240 ml) of water. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Add the saffron threads to a small bowl with the milk and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to boil and add 1½ tablespoons of salt. Drain the rice and add to pot. Boil for 5 minutes, then immediately drain and rinse.
• In a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, finely grind the cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, cardamon, coriander, and cumin.
• Add the spices to the meat, along with the nutmeg and cayenne. Cover and continue cooking until the meat is tender, about 10 minutes. If there is too much sauce, increase the heat to high, uncover, and stir to evaporate some of the liquid (there should about 1 cup (240 g) of sauce left in the meat).
• Preheat the oven to 300˚F (150˚C).
• In a large Dutch oven or deep casserole dish, layer half of the rice, the meat with its sauce, and the rest of the rice. Squeeze the lemon juice over rice.
• Using the end of a wooden spoon, poke holes all the way through the layers. Spoon a bit of the saffron and milk into each hole.
• Distribute the butter over the rice and sprinkle over most of the fried onions, reserving some for garnish. Cover the dish with foil, then top with a lid.
• Bake for 1 hour.
• Remove the biriyani from the oven and set aside for at least 15 minutes.
• Garnish with the eggs, raisins, remaining 3 tablespoons of slivered almonds, reserved fried onions, and cilantro.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Place the basmati rice in a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 30 minutes. Drain.
• Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet over medium heat; fry the cloves, cardamom pods, and cinnamon sticks in the hot oil until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the onions; cook and stir until the onions are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir the garlic paste and ginger paste into the onion mixture; cook until the garlic and ginger is fragrant, about 1 minute more. Sprinkle the cilantro and mint over the mixture and cook 1 minute more.
• Add the lamb chops to the skillet; season with salt. Cook and stir the lamb until the meat begins to brown, about 20 minutes.
• Stir the tomatoes, green chile peppers, and ground red pepper into the mixture; continue cooking until the oil begins to separate from the gravy, about 10 minutes. Add the yogurt and lemon juice; cover and cook until the lamb is tender, about 15 minutes. Add water as needed to keep the mixture from getting too dry.
• Bring the rice, 7 1/2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil in a saucepan until the rice is nearly done yet a little chewy, 10 to 15 minutes; drain any excess water.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small skillet; fry the sliced onion in the hot oil until lightly browned.
• Layer about half the rice in the bottom of a deep pot with a lid. Spoon the lamb masala over the rice. Spread the fried onion over the lamb masala. Top with the remaining rice. Stir the saffron and warm milk together in a small bowl; pour over the top layer of rice. Cover the pot with the lid and place the pot over low heat; cook until the rice is thoroughly cooked, about 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Toss the lamb in a bowl with the garlic, ginger and a large pinch of salt. Marinate in the fridge overnight or for at least a couple of hours.
• Heat the oil in a casserole. Fry the lamb for 5-10 mins until starting to brown. Add the onion, cumin seeds and nigella seeds, and cook for 5 mins until starting to soften. Stir in the curry paste, then cook for 1 min more. Scatter in the rice and curry leaves, then pour over the stock and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Stir in the paneer, spinach and some seasoning. Cover the dish with a tight lid of foil, then put the lid on to ensure it's well sealed. Cook in the oven for 20 mins, then leave to stand, covered, for 10 mins. Bring the dish to the table, remove the lid and foil, scatter with the coriander and chillies and serve with yogurt on the side.

Steps:

• Heat a large pan, fry the curry paste until fragrant, add the lamb, then brown on all sides. Pour in the rice and stock, then stir well. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid, then cook for 15 mins on a medium heat until the rice is tender.
• Stir through the spinach, put the lid back on the pan and leave to steam, undisturbed, for 5 mins before serving.

Steps:

• Prepare the lamb marinade: Add the finger chiles, garlic and ginger to a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the onions and tomatoes, process until smooth, and scrape into a bowl that will hold all the lamb and fit in your fridge. Add the yogurt, mint, cilantro, coriander, cumin, chile powder, turmeric and salt, and stir to combine. Add the lamb to the bowl and toss to coat in the marinade, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Prepare the fried onions: In a Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the oil over medium. Add the onions, season with salt, and sauté until browned, stirring occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fried onions to a paper towel-lined plate. Using your hands, pull apart the fried onions to separate to prevent them from sticking together, and set aside.
• Add the cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves and cardamom to the remaining hot oil, and fry over medium until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the meat, its marinade and 1 cup water, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender and the sauce is very thick and dark, about 2 1/2 hours, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a low simmer. Stir in the garam masala and taste, adjusting with salt and chile powder as needed. Set aside.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the rice: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil and add the rice. Stir well and cook for 3 minutes, transfer to a colander in the sink to drain. Run some cool water on top to cool the rice; set aside.
• Prepare the saffron milk for assembly: Warm the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat just until it steams. Remove from heat and add the saffron, crumbling it with your fingertips as you drop it into the milk. Set aside.
• In a large, heavy, lidded pot, add about a third of the meat mixture in an even layer covering the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle the meat with a third of the herbs and a third of the rice, assembling lightly without packing the layers. Drizzle 2 tablespoons saffron milk over the rice and add about a third of the fried onions. Build two more layers of meat, herbs, rice, saffron milk and onions. Top with pats of butter and cover the pot with foil.
• Put the lid on the pot of rice, transfer to the oven and bake until piping hot, about 1 hour. Let rest for about 10 minutes, then serve hot, digging all the way to the bottom of the pot with the serving spoon. To reheat, warm the biryani covered in the oven, or microwave.

Steps:

• Put the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until it is reduced to rice-sized pieces. Tip into a large bowl and stir in the turmeric, cardamom, fennel seeds, black onion seeds and some seasoning. Cover with cling film, pierce and set aside.
• For the spicy lamb, heat the oil in a non-stick wok and fry the onion and ginger for 10 mins until soft and golden. Add the chilli and garlic, and cook for 1 min more.
• Stir in the cumin and coriander, cook briefly, then toss in the lamb and stir-fry for 1-2 mins until pale brown. Add the tomatoes and the bouillon, and cook for 2 mins - you are aiming for a thick sauce and really tender lamb that is still a little pink and juicy.
• Meanwhile, put the cauliflower in the microwave and cook on high for 3 mins. Tip out onto serving plates, dot the lamb and sauce in patches over the rice, then scatter with the almonds, pomegranate seeds and mint leaves to serve.