Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani

5 from 3 votes

Lamb marinated overnight in yogurt and spices, cooked into a curry, then layered with saffron basmati and finished in the oven. Make the curry two days ahead.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 25

Marinating Time5

Total Time6 55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Indian

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: people

Calories: 588kcal

Author: Ayla Clulee

Ingredients

For the Marinade

1 tablespoon garlic and ginger paste
1 teaspoon chilli powder or flaked chilli
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoon garam masala
7 oz natural yogurt (200 grams)
½ teaspoon salt
1 lb diced lamb (500 grams)

For the Curry Sauce

1 ½ tablespoon ghee
3 large onions (sliced)
3 green cardamoms (slightly crushed)
1 small cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon chilli powder or flaked chilli (adjust to your taste)
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon mace (optional)
½ bunch coriander (chopped)
1 chilli (chopped)
1 cup chicken stock or lamb stock
salt to taste

For the Rice

1 ½ cups basmati rice
3 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon salt
2 green cardamoms (slightly crushed)
3 cups cold water
3 tablespoon milk
pinch of saffron (optional)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Marinating the Lamb

Mix garlic and ginger paste, chilli powder or flaked chilli, ground turmeric, salt, garam masala and natural yoghurt in a large bowl.
Mix until combined and add the diced lamb. Make sure all the lamb pieces are covered with marinade.
Cover the bowl with cling film or a lid and let it marinate in the fridge preferably overnight or for a minimum of 5 hours.

Cooking the Lamb Curry

Put a heavy-based pan or a Dutch oven on medium heat and melt the ghee.
Add sliced onions and sauté them until caramelised and get really dark brown but not burnt. This would take around 20 to 30 minutes.
Spare half of the caramelised onions on a plate and set them aside to use later for garnishing the biryani.
Add cardamoms, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, flaked chilli, garam masala, mace (optional) and turmeric to the pan, and sauté for 40 seconds. Stir continuously to make sure they don’t get burnt.
Add the mutton along with the marinade, the chicken stock or the lamb stock, coriander, and the chilli.
Mix well and turn the heat to high to bring the mixture to a boil.
When it boils, lower the heat, close the lid and let it simmer for one hour or until the mutton is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir occasionally to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Cooking the Rice

As the mutton cooks, prepare the rice.
Wash the rice in a sieve under running cold water until the water from the rice is no longer cloudy.
Soak the rice in room temperature water for 20 minutes.
Drain the water and place the rice in a large saucepan with the lime or lemon juice, cardamoms and cold water. Salt the water generously, about a tablespoon.
Bring it to a boil over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes, then press a grain between your fingers. It should break easily but still have a firm white center. Give it another minute if it's still hard, then strain the rice and discard the cooking liquid.

Layering the Mutton Biryani

Preheat the oven to 180 °C (356 ℉).
Warm the milk, add the saffron (if using) to infuse for about 10 minutes and set it aside to garnish the biryani.
When the meat is tender enough, check the seasoning and add some salt if needed.
Remove from the heat and spread the precooked rice on the top of the curry with the back of a spoon, making sure the rice totally covers the curry.
Garnish the top of the rice with the reserved caramelized onions and sprinkle on the milk infused with saffron.
Tightly cover the pan or the Dutch oven with tin foil then place the lid over the foil.
Cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Use aged long-grain basmati and wash it until the water runs clear, so the grains stay separate.
Marinate the lamb overnight if you can, and for a minimum of 5 hours. Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
A tablespoon of grated raw papaya in the marinade softens the meat faster.
Salt the rice water generously, about a tablespoon, as it's the only seasoning the rice gets. Boil the rice only until a grain breaks easily but still has a firm white center, then strain it straight away.
The curry should be thick before the rice goes on. If it's watery, boil it down with the lid off for a few minutes.
Cover the pan tightly with foil and then the lid so no steam escapes in the oven, and let it rest for 10 minutes before opening.
Don't mix the rice too much when serving, so you keep the white and yellow grains.
Make the curry up to 2 days ahead, and cook the rice just before layering.
Leftovers keep for 4 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Reheat them covered with a splash of water so they steam.
Mutton at a halal butcher usually means goat. Goat shoulder works the same way, sometimes with a little longer cooking.

Nutrition