Lamb biryani
This summer lamb and dill biryani lightens up an Indian favourite for the warmer months. It's a great, easy dish to make and put in the middle of the table for guests to help themselves
- 1 large onionroughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlicroughly chopped
- 5cm chunk gingerpeeled and roughly chopped
- 3 green chilliesroughly chopped
- 6 tbsp natural yogurt
- 1kg lamb neckcut into chunks
- 350g basmati rice
- 2 small bunches dillchopped
- a small bunch corianderchopped
- 100g buttermelted
- 2 tsp chilli powder
- 6 cardamom podsseeds removed and ground
- 1 cinnamon stickbroken in half
- 6 clovesground
- 2 tsp garam masala
- a good pinch saffronsoaked in 3 tbsp boiling water
- to serve natural yogurt, naan breads and mango chutney or lime pickle
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal737
- fat40.2g
- saturates20.8g
- carbs54.1g
- sugars5.8g
- fibre2.6g
- protein38.5g
- salt0.7g
Method
step 1
Put the onion, garlic, ginger, chillies and yogurt in a small food processor and whizz to a purée. Tip into a bowl, add the lamb and mix. Leave to marinate for 2 hours.
step 2
Rinse the rice a few times then drain well. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the rice then bring back to simmering and cook for 6 minutes. Drain. Mix in the dill and coriander.
step 3
Heat a couple of spoonfuls of the butter in a pan. Cook all the spices apart from the garam masala and saffron for a few minutes. Tip in the lamb and marinade and fry, turning until the lamb starts to colour a little. Add a splash of water, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour. Stir in the garam masala.
step 4
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Melt the rest of the butter.
step 5
Layer up the lamb, sauce and rice in an ovenproof casserole with a lid, drizzling with the rest of the butter as you go (try to leave the milky solids behind). Finish with a layer of rice then a final drizzle of butter, the saffron and its liquid. Cover tightly with a sheet of foil, put on the lid then bake for 30 minutes. Serve with extra yogurt, naan breads and mango chutney or lime pickle.
