Name: Yogurt-Marinated Lamb with Rice, Saffron, and Mint (Kacchi Biryani)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1 cup Indian or Pakistani white basmati rice; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; 2 tablespoons Ginger Paste; ¼ cup firmly packed fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, finely chopped; 2 black cardamom pods; 2 fresh or dried bay leaves; 1 tablespoon Garlic Paste; 2 teaspoons ground Kashmiri chiles; or ½ teaspoon cayenne (ground red pepper) mixed with 1½ teaspoons sweet paprika; 1 cup plain yogurt; 1 small red onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons Ghee or unsalted butter; 1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt; ½ teaspoon saffron threads; ½ cup firmly packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped; 1 pound boneless leg of lamb, fat trimmed off, cut into 1-inch cubes; 2 tablespoons Ghee or unsalted butter, melted; 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves for garnishing; 2 cinnamon sticks (each 3 inches long); 1½ teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt; Vegetable cooking spray; 1 teaspoon Punjabi garam masala; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

A Hyderabadi specialty, this comes to me by way of my old college soulmate Abdul Contractor, who is still a close friend. His mother was a master at preparing biryanis. In this recipe, uncooked lamb (kacchi) is layered with partially cooked rice, and then the biryani is baked in the oven to create pure magic. Some of Abdul’s mother’s versions included cashew nuts, golden raisins, and fried onion slices. This simplified version pays respect to her fla