Best Special Lamb Biryani Recipes

LAMB BIRYANI WITH SAFFRON, YOGURT, AND CARAMELIZED ONIONS RECIPE

Steps:

• Place the lamb in a 1 gallon (3.8L) ziptop bag. In a medium bowl, mix the yogurt, garlic, ginger, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt until combined, pour the yogurt mixture over the lamb, seal the bag, and shake the bag to coat the lamb well. Leave the ziptop bag in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.
• Heat 1/4 cup (60ml) ghee or oil in a Dutch oven or saucepan with a heavy bottom over medium heat. Add the onions, season with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions caramelize and turn dark brown (but not black), about 25 to 30 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to low. Remove half of the caramelized onions and reserve to use as garnish for the biryani. Add 3 green cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, garam masala, Kashmiri chili, mace, and turmeric, and sauté just until spices become fragrant, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the lamb along with the yogurt marinade, the water or stock, and the cilantro, mint, and green chili. Stir to mix well, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid, and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is completely tender.
• Meanwhile, as the lamb cooks, prepare the rice. Pick over the the rice for any debris, then place it in a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water, until the runoff is no longer cloudy; drain well. Place the rice in a bowl and cover with 4 cups (960ml) water and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain the rice, discarding soaking water. In a large saucepan, combine rice with 4 cups cold water, lemon juice, the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, the remaining 2 green cardamom pods, and the remaining 2 teaspoons of ghee or oil and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 2 minutes and then strain the rice; discard cooking water. It will be partially cooked-if you break a grain of rice, you will see an outer translucent ring and a tiny, opaque inner ring.
• When the lamb is tender, remove lid and increase the heat to medium, stirring often to prevent scorching, and cook until the liquid starts to thicken and reduces to about 1 1/2 cups (360ml), about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Using a clean, large wooden spoon or spatula, spread the rice out in an even layer over the meat in the Dutch oven.
• Set oven rack at the middle position and heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Place half the saffron threads in a mortar and pestle and grind to a fine powder. In a small saucepan placed over low heat, warm the milk just until it starts to bubble, then turn off the heat. Add the ground saffron and remaining saffron strands to the hot milk and let steep for 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle the saffron-infused milk over the rice, followed by the rosewater and the pandan water. Garnish the top of the rice with the reserved caramelized onions. Cover the Dutch oven with two sheets of aluminum foil and crimp the overhang to form a tight seal, place the lid over the foil, and place the Dutch oven in the preheated oven for 20 minutes to let the rice steam. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and carefully peel off the aluminum seal. Use a fork to loosen the rice a little and serve immediately straight from the Dutch oven. Alternatively, biryani can be transferred to a platter and served.

LAMB BIRYANI RECIPE BY TASTY

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!