When I was in the Middle East, biryani was my favorite. Every time when I had to leave for a couple days, I just could not wait to go back for some authentic biryani. Biryani can be prepared with almost all protein or no protein (vegetarian). My favorite biryani was goat biryani, but since I could not find goat where I am, I used lamb.
Biryani is a common rice dish in muslim regions, like Indian and the Middle East. There are many ways to make biryani. It can be prepared in layers or meat/rice, in a traditional pot or instant pot. I used the biggest pot I had in the kitchen. A soup pot. Whichever way you decide to make biryani, it is going to pack with spices, freshly chopped mint and cilantro. Basmati rice is used. Basmati is a long grain aromatic rice. Unlike Japanese rice or Jasmine rice, Basmati has a slightly golden hue and a fragrant smell. The color means it's been properly aged to get the aromatic flavor from each grain. It's not as starchy and sweet as sushi rice, which makes Basmati easier to absorb spices.
I had the lamb marinade for 6 hours in the fridge, rice soaked in water for 30 minutes. Some people have meat marinade overnight, rice soak in water for 2 hours. I wasn't that patient. Also, if you do decide to use lamb, make sure to trim off excess fat. I trimmed off most of it, but kinda wished that I had kept some because I loved the gamey taste of lamb. However, I did keep the fat and plan to render lard out of it later.
You can make masala from scratch, or find ready made in your local Indian markets. They are pretty easy to find (even on Amazon). Fresh cilantro and mint are required. Rosewater is optional. Saffron milk is recommended (I used Saffron + oat milk.....). You can fry onion in the pot or get ready-fried onion from Indian market. In this recipe, I used both.
I tasted many different biryani in the Middle East and they all tasted slightly different based on who made it and where they were from. But one thing for sure was that they were all delicious!
Ingredient
A.
1 lb Basmati rice, soak in water at least 30 minutes before cooking
1 Cinnamon Stick
2 Star Anise
2 Bay Leaves
Lots of Salt
About half pot full of boiling water
B.
2 lbs Boneless Lamb Shoulder, cut to 8 large pieces.
1 cup Plain Yogurt
1 Tsp Ginger Paste
1 Tsp Garlic Paste
2 strings Mace
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 Tsp Garam Masala
1 Tsp Red Chili Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ Lime juice
Lots of Salt
C.
A whole bunch of Cilantro, only the leaves, roughly chopped
10 fresh Mint Leaves, roughly chopped
1 large Tomato, sliced
Some Fried Onions
½ Red Onion, thinly sliced
Saffron threads soak in warm milk
Optional: Rosewater
Instruction
(Do this a couple hours before you start cooking) In a large bowl, add everything from section B., except the meat. We are not adding the meat yet because you can still taste the masala to see if you need more salt or more of any of the spices. You would not want to taste that if meat is already in the bowl. That is not good. Once you feel the seasoning taste good, add the meat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.
Soak rice in water.
In a large pot, pour enough oil to cover the bottom of the pot, med heat. Add onion, stir and fry till translucent, then add lamb. Add more oil if needed. Cook lamb till all sides are browned.
Add everything from section A. to a boiling pot to cook rice. We are not trying to cook rice all the way through, only to about 60% done. The rest is going to be done in the same pot as lamb. About 5 minutes or so. Best way to know if it's the right texture is to taste the rice. Fish out a grain or two from the pot to taste. Drain the rice quickly.
Once lamb is browned, take the meat out from the pot (only the meat). Next, we are going to assemble biryani.
Add a layer of rice on the bottom of the pot, add a few pieces of meat on top, sprinkle cilantro/mint mixture over it and a few slices of tomatoes, and then more rice on top of everything. Keep repeating the layers. The last layer (the top layer) should be rice, sprinkle fried onion all over the top, drizzle saffron milk and rosewater (optional), and some oil. Cover the pot tightly. If your lid has a tiny hole for steam, I suggest using 1 or 2 sheets of tin foil to wrap the lid tightly so steam cannot escape from pot because we need to steam the ingredients to make biryani.
Turn heat up to high and left cook for 5 minutes, and then low heat for 10 minutes. After that, let sit for another 10 minutes before removing the lid.
Mix everything together and serve. If you want, squeeze some lime over it.
I had biryani with raisins and coconut milk before. I wasn't a fan of raisins in biryani (or in cookies), but coconut milk was a nice touch. Nuts, like cashews, can be added to biryani too. There are many ways to make biryani, as long as it tastes good, you can be as creative as you want. You are the chef after all.
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