Lamb Biryani

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg lamb or goat meat
• 400 g basmati rice
• 500 g yogurt
• 4 onions
• 5 tbsp oil or ghee
• 2 chili peppers, green, as desired
• 2 tbsp ginger, pureed
• 2 tbsp garlic, pureed
• 6 tomatoes
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tbsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 6 cardamom pods, green, whole
• ½ stalk(s) cinnamon, approx. 5 cm
• 1 bay leaf, preferably Indian
• 5 carnations
• ½ tsp saffron threads
• 100 ml milk
• ½ bunch coriander leaves
• ½ bunch mint
• 50 g butter
• Salt
• ½ cucumber(s)

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 25 minutes

Recipe for authentic Gosht Biryani

First of all: This recipe comes directly from India and is not entirely straightforward to prepare, so please read before cooking! Those who are afraid of spices should also avoid it. Biryani is a very popular dish with large amounts of spices that must be properly fried; otherwise, the dish tastes slightly “sandy” and disharmonious. To mute the spice, it is traditionally served with raita, a refreshing yogurt salad. Soak the saffron in the warmed milk, then soak the basmati rice in cold water for 30 minutes. Trim any excess fat from the lamb and cut it into 3 cm cubes. Finely dice 3 onions, cutting one into half rings. Set aside about 2 tablespoons of the finely diced onions for the raita. Dice 4 tomatoes, deseed and dice the remaining two, and reserve them separately for the raita. Chop the coriander leaves and finely slice the mint. Drain the basmati rice and cook it in salted water with the cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom, and cloves until 3/4 cooked. Drain well in a sieve. Heat oil or ghee in a large roasting pan with a heavy lid. Fry the diced onions in it. Stir in all the ground spices (except the garam masala) and fry thoroughly for 30 seconds. If the mixture seems dry, add a little more oil. Add the ginger and garlic paste and chilies, if desired, and fry for another 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and fry, stirring, until the oil separates from the mixture. The tomatoes should break down and give everything a smooth, mushy consistency. Now, over high heat, add half of the yogurt, a spoonful at a time. It must be brought to the heat immediately and stirred in quickly, otherwise it risks curdling! Add the meat, season with salt, and simmer until the meat is cooked through. With tender meat that doesn’t need to be braised for long, there’s often too much liquid in the pot. Then simmer over high heat until the sauce has reached a thick consistency. Fry the onion rings in oil until they are fried onions, then drain on kitchen paper. Stir chopped coriander leaves into the sauce, remove half of the sauce and meat from the pot and set aside. Now cover the meat in the roasting pan with half of the rice. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of garam masala evenly over it, as well as half of the fried onions, the mint (reserve 1 tablespoon for the raita!), and half of the saffron milk. Sprinkle butter in small pieces over the top. Repeat the layering with the other half of the ingredients. Cover and let it simmer in the oven at 180°C (top/bottom heat) for 20 minutes. For the raita, deseed the cucumber and cut into 1 cm cubes. Mix the remaining yogurt with the cucumber, the reserved diced tomatoes and onion, and the mint. Season with a pinch of ground coriander. Let it sit for a few minutes. Serve the biryani and raita together. Depending on your taste, you can mix the two lightly on the plate or eat them separately.