Lamb Biryani and Rice

Lamb Biryani and Rice (as served for our belated EID celebrations 3-7-2017) Yes, traditionally you are supposed to layer the sauce with part-cooked rice and bake it – but despite many attempts I just ended up with a soggy mess, so for the Brownies to taste, we served the curry bit and the rice bit separately and some liked one, some liked the other, some liked both and no doubt there were some who liked neither. The Lamb Curry bit closely based on a recipe in The Slow Cook Book (DK –Heather Whinney) 10 cardamom pods (split – seeds kept husks discarded) 10 cloves 20 peppercorns 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp hot chilli powder 2 tsp ground coriander ½ tsp smoked sweet paprika 3 bay leaves 2 large onions, finely diced 8 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped ~350ml (ie 1 big tub) natural yogurt 1 kg lamb cut into bit-sized pieces (for slow-cooker no need for prime cuts – we had a mix of leg and shoulder to get the weight about right at the most cost-effective price and it was beautifully tender – on the hob it is cooked more quickly so the cut might be more of an issue ) Oil for frying (should use ghee or butter, but we didn’t) Grind the whole spices and add the ready-powdered ones In a BIG fryingpan or hob-safe casserole fry all the spices gently in a generous schluch of oil, then add the onions and cook until soft, then add the garlic and soften. Add the lamb and mix well, then add the yogurt and bay leaves and stir well. At this point I transferred to my preheated slow cooker for (nominally) 3-4h on high or 6-8h on low. My test bake became very dry and could have done with more fluid/less time/heat – so you may need to experiment and/or watch your fluid levels. For Brownies I had doubled the recipe and it was very wet, so I actually did about 6h on high as I wanted the extra evaporation…. I still had to thicken it using a slurry of Gluten-free flour…and even then it was runnier than I would have liked (Bear in mind that if the curry was being layered with part-cooked rice in the traditional way to finish cooking, the rice would absorb some of that liquid) For regular cooking (on the hob) the book suggests 1½ h at a simmer with a VERY close-fitting lid (or extra foil over to help seal). Watch your fluid levels. I see no reason why you couldn’t oven bake (in a suitable dish) – perhaps at about 150degC for an hour or two – but watch your fluid levels. Remember not to eat the 3 bay leaves! The spiced “saffron” rice bit closely based on a recipe from “Lisa” on panning the globe website 4 cardamom pods (split – seeds kept husks discarded) 2 tsp cumin seeds 1 cinnamon stick snapped in half 2 bay leaves ¼ tsp of turmeric powder (for the yellow) – “dissolved” in about 5floz of warm water or milk About 1lb (500g/3-4 rice-machine-cups) of basmati rice (be sure to measure the volume of your dry rice before you start About ½ tsp salt Oil for frying (should use ghee or butter, but we didn’t) Wash/rinse the rice to remove surface starch (keep swilling and decanting water off until water no longer looks milky) (if you’re going to be doing the rice in a saucepan, some recipes advise covering the rice with 2” of water at this point and leaving to soak for an hour. I DIDN’T as I did my rice in my rice cooker) Grind the cardamom and cumin and fry in a good schlurg of oil. Add the drained raw/soaked rice and fry to allow rice to absorb flavour Add the salt and turmeric solution and mix in evenly. At this point I transferred to my rice cooker, topped up to the amount of water required for that amount of rice, popped the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves on the top, switched it on and walked away. To cook in a saucepan you are going to want to gauge the water quantity quite carefully as you don’t want an excess of water washing all the spice away when you drain. I believe that the ideal proportion of water for cooking rice is 1 volume of rice to 2 volumes of water so that the rice absorbs ALL the water it had, although if you have pre-soaked your rice I guess you would need perhaps only a volume of water equal to the volume of the DRY rice. I didn’t do it this way, so you will have to make your own assessment/experiment. Again, I believe the knack is to bring to the boil, simmer a few minutes then switch off and let the rice continue to absorb – but I’m useless with rice – that’s why I have a rice cooker! .

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