Lamb Biryani on a white platter
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Lamb Biryani

I haven’t made this Lamb Biryani in a while. My kids don’t like Biryani and I don’t eat lamb so there’s no point in cooking it.

However, before lock down I promised to make my sister-in-laws family some Biryani. I thought it was about time I did my good deed.

Lamb Biryani

Unlike a Lamb Pilaf where everything is mixed together, this Lamb Biryani is layered. It is commonly served at Indian functions.

It is one of the most delicious Biryanis you could eat. I have fond memories of eating it when I did eat lamb.

How is a Lamb Biryani Cooked

I do this the easy way. The meat is marinated overnight with all the herbs and spices. I then cook the curry the next day, cook the rice separately, fry some potatoes and onion and layer them all in a flat pot.

It is then popped into the oven and you have a pot of deliciousness. Making a Biryani is a process, that I cannot lie about. But trust me it is worth the effort. 

Spices

You do require a lot of different spices to make a biryani. This is what makes it so aromatic and full-flavored. In South Africa we love a spicy Biryani.

Spicy doesn’t necessarily mean hot. As I keep stressing please roast your own spices and grind them, there is no other way in terms of flavor. 

Fresh Herbs

My mum always uses fresh herbs in her cooking. It’s where I learnt to always stock up on herbs.

My fridge is always stocked with herbs and it’s something that’s always on my grocery list. It makes all the difference to this dish.

What Rice can I use

I do prefer to use Basmati Rice. My favorite brand of Basmati rice is the Maharani brand. It never gets mushy and it has a longer grain than most Basmati Rice.

However, you can use normal long grain rice if you don’t have Basmati rice.

Cooking Time

Biryani is a lengthy process and takes a long time to cook. I prefer cooking my lamb for an hour or more so it is tender and falling off the bone. I pop it into the oven for a further hour.

You can also cook it on the stovetop on the lowest temperature until it’s cooked. It is not absolutely necessary to pop it into the oven, however in my personal opinion the oven does make a difference in terms of the taste

Serving the Biryani

This Biryani is best served with some fresh Raita but Sambals could work too

If you do try my recipe please drop me a comment and a star rating, it is always appreciated:-)

 

More Recipes you many want to try:

Best Durban Lamb Curry

Delicious Oven Baked Chicken Biryani

Delicious Easy Chicken Akni

Lamb Biryani

The best lamb biryani you will ever eat. So aromatic, rich and full-flavored
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

Marinade

  • 1 kg lamb pieces on the bone
  • 1/3 cup yogurt
  • 1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1 tbsp masala
  • 1 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp ground fennel/soomph
  • 1/4 tsp ground elachie
  • 1/4 cup chopped mint
  • 1/4 cup chopped coriander
  • 6 sprigs thyme
  • 1 large onion fried until crisp
  • 2 roma tomatoes skin removed and pureed
  • 50 gram tomato paste
  • salt

Rice

  • 2 cups basmati rice
  • 5 elachie/cardamom pods
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 5 cloves
  • 2 bay leaf
  • 2 star aniseed
  • 2 black cardamom
  • salt
  • egg yellow food colouring

Other Ingredients

  • 4 potatoes peeled and cut into wedges or cubes
  • 1 large onion fried until crisp
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 100 gram butter
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 cup green lentils cooked as per package instructions

Instructions
 

  • Slice the 2 onion, thin slices. Add half a cup of oil to a pan and fry the onion until golden and crisp. Drain on a paper towel
  • In a large glass bowl marinate the lamb with all the spices, herbs, tomato and tomato paste. Mix in half the fried onion and reserve the other half for the biryani. Cover with a cling wrap and refrigerate overnight
  • When ready to cook the Biryani. Add the wholes spices as shown under "rice" to a pot with the rice. Season and cook as per package instructions. Rice shouldn't be fully cooked, it will cook further in the oven
  • Once the rice is cooked drain the water, depending on how you cook your rice. Sprinkle some food colouring on top of the rice. cover and set aside. When ready to use the rice you will fluff it up with a fork. This will allow you to create different shades of yellow in the rice
  • In a large flat pot, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 2 tablespoon butter (from the 100gram butter). Mix in the marinated lamb and cook until it starts to dry up. Add a cup of water and cook further until lamb is tender.
  • Whilst the lamb is cooking you can steam your potatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes, season with salt and fry until slightly brown and crisp. If your potatoes cook quickly no need to steam them first
  • Once lamb is cooked mix in the lentils. Place the potatoes on top. Spread the rice over. Sprinkle the onion over and place the blobs of butter (the remaining 100g) all over the rice. Pour in a cup of water and cook in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 1 hour
  • Serve hot with raita

Notes

  1. You can use a canned lentils instead of dry lentils
  2. The amount of water can be adjusted according to your discretion. Altitude will play a role in the cooking time
  3. If you do not have access to masala you can increase the amount of kashmiri chilli powder
  4. Lamb on the bone is preferred as it does add more flavor but you can use boneless lamb if you wish
  5. I did state this feeds four people but it actually could feed up to 6 people
  6. If you don't have the time to marinate overnight an hour is fine
  7. If you are marinating overnight you can fry the onions when you ready to cook and just add half the fried onion to the marinated meat when cooking
Keyword Baked Biryani, indian food, lamb biryani, south african biryani
Tried this recipe?Mention @tamarindnthyme

 

 

 

 

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12 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Definitely a great recipe for starters and Lorraine added a real clever approach to structuring the recipe which did not make – making the biryani a mammoth task at all. I e never made biryani before, with this being my first stab at it – it was successful!

  2. Hi Lorraine

    I tried your lamb breyani recipe lastnite. It was delicious. Everyone in my family enjoyed it.

    I would like to thank you for your roti and puri recipes as well. They are easy and full proof.

    Will definitely be trying more of your recipes.

  3. 5 stars
    Hi Lorraine..

    Thank you for sharing delicious briyani recipe. We love briyani,
    Loved all the combination of herbs n spices.

    An absolute winner

    1. Thank you so much Lallie. Glad to hear that you love the recipe. Appreciate your support always:-)

5 from 4 votes

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