I LOVE LAMB! I mean... yeah I love lamb, and when it comes to lamb biryani, I really really miss Singapore. This is more of a moghul version of Lamb Biryani rather then a Singapore version. I couldn't find head nor hair of a version like we had in Little Lndia in Singapore, although there were dozens of stalls selling it.
This is introduce another cooking technique called Dum cooking. The idea is to create a low pressure pressure cooker which will help seal in the flavors and aid the rice in cooking by increasing the boiling point of water slightly.
This technically is a Pakhi style Biryani where the rice and the protein are cooked separately and then they are mixed together and cooked Dum style in the oven.
2 C basmati Rice
2-3 green cardamom pods
2-3 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 Tb. salt
2 Tb ghee
1 large onion thinly sliced
1 lb cubed leg of lamb
1 teas cayenne
2 Tb ground coriander
1.5 Tb ginger garlic paste
1 green chili finely chopped
1/4 Cup yogurt
2 Tb garam Masala
juice of half a lemon
1 cup cilantro leaves coarsely chopped
Store bought fried onions (cheap at Indian groceries) you could substitute Frenches in a pinch.
Raisins or currants (optional)
Rinse the rice several times in water then soak for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil, add Cardamom, cloves, and bay leaf. While its coming up to a boil start working on the lamb.
Heat ghee over medium heat and add the onions until they start to caramelize. Add the lamb, cayenne, ground coriander, ginger garlic paste and green chilies and allow the spices to coat the lamb and brown the lamb slightly without burning the spices. After each side of the lamb is lightly browned add the yogurt, and 1 teas. salt stir to coat.
While the yogurt is cooking off, add the rice to the water and cook for 8 minutes or until 80-90 percent done.
If the lamb dries out completely before the rice is done add a little water to keep it from sticking, keep it hot until the rice is ready. Add the Garam Masala to the lamb and mix in well.
Divide the lamb mixture in half and layer the first part in an oven safe pot. Add a layer of dripping wet rice, and then add 3/4 of your cilantro and a handful of fried onions add the second half of the lamb mixture and the rest of the dripping wet rice. Top with some more onions, and the juice of half a lemon.
Seal the pot well either with a very tight fitting lid or you can make a dough with flour and water to completely seal the lid.
Cook through in the oven for 15 minutes. After you remove it from the oven, fluff the rice and top with the last 1/4 of cilantro. You can also garnish with some raisins or currents.
-NOM
