Floyd’s imperial biryani

Name: Floyd’s imperial biryani
Yield: Serves 10
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 100 g/4 oz cream; 150 g/5 oz finely sliced red onions; vegetable oil; 10 cloves; 4 blades of mace; small packet of silver leaf, to garnish; 10 cardamom pods; 40 g/1½ oz cloves of garlic, peeled; 2 teaspoons chilli powder; 10 g/⅓ oz ground cinnamon; 40 g/1½ oz root ginger, peeled; 8 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves; 100 g/4 oz raisins; 100 g/4 oz cashew nuts; 2 kg/4½ lb mutton morsels (or lamb or goat); 250 g/9 oz natural yoghurt; salt; 6 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves; 1 kg/2¼ lb basmati rice, washed under running water for at least 15 minutes and strained; 150 g/5 oz coarsely chopped red onions; 350 g/12 oz ghee; a pinch of saffron threads soaked in 2 tablespoons water; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; plain flour; a few drops of rosewater; 100 g/4 oz flaked almonds

Preparation info

Serves
10

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Floyd's India

By Keith Floyd

Published 2001

About

This is a sumptuous dish of tender, spicy mutton cooked gently in fragrant rice. A celebration dish, it should be served for a very special occasion. It is best to have small pieces of good quality mutton and, if possible, on the bone. Lamb or goat can be used instead of mutton, if preferred.

Ingredients

1 kg/2¼ lb basmati rice, washed under running water for at least 15 minutes and strained
350 g

Asia
India
Main course
Spicy

Method

Soak the washed rice in fresh water for 1 hour. Meanwhile, dry roast all the spices for the masala in a frying pan over a low heat, then grind them to a powder in a food processor or blender. Mix together all the ingredients for the purée.
Drain the soaked rice thoroughly. Heat some of the ghee in a large wok or shallow frying pan and sauté the rice for 2 or 3