Name: Mum's Biryani - Lamb or Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 160 min
Ingredients: Few strands Saffron; 100 ml Milk (lighlty warmed); Oil (For deep frying); 5 Potatoes (Peeled and chopped into 3cm cubes); 2.5 kg Lamb Shoulder (Cut into 1 inch pieces, Bone in ); 2 Cinnamon Sticks; 2 Bay Leaves; 4 Peppercorns; 3 Cloves; 4 Cardamom Pods (Lightly cracked open); ½ Onion (Roughly chopped); Salt; 1/4 tsp Ginger Paste; 1/4 tsp Garlic Paste; 150 ml Vegetable or Sunflower Oil; 6 Onions (Sliced finely); 2 Cardamom Pods; 2 Cinnamon Sticks (Small); 2 Bay Leaves; 1 Star Anise (Optional); 1 ½ tbsp Dry Fenugreek (or use small handful fresh Fenugreek Leaves); 3 tsp Ginger Paste; 3 tsp Garlic Paste; 3 tsp Green Chili Paste; 800 g Tomato tin (Pureed); 2 tsp Cumin Powder; 2 tsp Coriander Powder; 3 tsp Red Chilli Powder; 2 - 3 tsp Salt (Adjust to your taste); 2 tsp Turmeric Powder

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Mum's Biryani - Lamb or Chicken - My Mum's Biryani is. to. die. for. It is loved by all 6 of us siblings and our friends too. It is vibrant, aromatic and full of rich aromatic flavour. You can use either Lamb, Chicken or Veg in this recipe. This is Biryani for a crowd. It will feed at least 20 people.

Mum's Biryani - Lamb or Chicken

There is a reason that people will travel for a good Biryani. It is so much more then the delicious flavour. It is also what it represents. To me, that is Celebration/Gathering/Home/Mum/Dad/Family/Love.

If you have been keeping a close eye on the legend that is Asma Khan and Twitter lately, you will have noticed that it is also popular with a certain Mr Paul Rudd.

Asma has taken the essence of what Biryani means to so many of us and turned it into something that the World understands.

She has somehow managed to capture:

The anticipation of unveiling the pot of Biryani to reveal the beautiful colours and aroma underneath.

The joy of digging deep into the pot, making sure that you are getting every layer of bubbling deliciously flavourful hot curry and fragrant fluffy rice.

WHAT IS BIRYANI?

A Biryani is a layered dish of Curry (Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Veg) layered in between layers of steamed fluffy rice.

The rice takes in all the flavour of the curry and so you end up with the most delicious plate of food.

Whilst it can be time consuming to make, the results always make it worthwhile.

BIRYANI VARIETIES

There are many many variations of Biryani. Some of which are listed below (There are many more):

Lucknow Biryani - Lakhnawi Biryani is made Yakhni style with whole spices.

Masoor Biryani - In this, Masoor dal is half cooked in a with spices, onions and tomatoes. Then Biryani is layered with par-boiled aromatic long grain rice, fried onions, saffron flavored milk and coriander leaves. Like in this recipe.

Kolkata Biryani - Made with less oil and spices, and is more delicate in flavour then others. It is a dum style Biryani that is layered. Recently made famous by this headline.

Memony Biryani - Memoni biryani is very similar to Sindhi biryani. However, Memoni biryani is usually made with lamb and less food colouring.

Hyderabadi Biryani - The authentic Hyderabadi biryani in which raw rice and raw meat are cooked together in a pot with spices and a little bit of water. Here is my recipe for it.

Malabar Biryani - The famed Malabar Chicken Biryani is made by layering an aromatic and herby chicken masala with fluffy rice, crunchy fried onions (birista), nuts, dried fruits and ghee in a large pot.

Calicut Chicken Biryani - A dum Biryani that is flavoured with the spices of Kerala made with a short grain rice.

Parda Biryani - In this recipe, Biryani is cooked in a layer of dough. Here is my recipe for it.

There are 3 main types of Biryani – one where the meat or vegetables are cooked mixed with the rice (Pilau style or Yakhni).

Another version known as Dum style biryani where meat and rice are layered and cook in a sealed pot over fire.

The final version is where both the main elements are served separately.

This is seen very rarely but my friends mum used to make it for us when we were at University and it would often grace the table at our Hall's of Residence.

HOW TO MAKE MUM'S BIRYANI

Boil meat with whole Spices, Onion, Salt, Ginger and Garlic until tender.

In this case it was lamb that took 50 minutes to become tender. (Test with fingers). I did not add water but keep checking to see if water is needed.

Deep Fry Potatoes and set aside.

Heat Oil and add Onions.

Brown Onions with whole spices until a deep golden brown.

Add Garlic, Ginger, Green Chilli and cook until fragrant.

Next add pureed Tomatoes and ground Spices.

Add the meat.

Cook on low until the oil separates out at the sides. Add the Potatoes.

You can use either any meat (Below is from the time we made a Chicken version).

Meanwhile par cook rice with whole Spices, then drain and set aside.

Add foil to bottom layer of pot.

Layer the Rice and meat in alternate layers adding blobs of butter, fried onions, saffron and coriander in between until everything is used up.

Add some colour to the final layer if you wish by diluting powdered colour in water and sprinkling over the top of the rice.

The pot is then covered with a layer or 2 of foil and a lid and cooked over a low heat for about 1 hour during which time the rice absorbs all the flavour and aroma of the spices and lamb curry underneath.

HOW TO MAKE A SMALLER QUANTITY - FOR 6

Ingredient quantities for 6:

Saffron Milk

4 strands Saffron

30 ml Milk

Potatoes

Oil for deep frying

2 Potatoes peeled and chopped into 3 cm cubes

Lamb

1 kg Lamb Shoulder

1 Cinnamon Stick

1 Bay Leaf

2 Cloves

2 Cardamom Pods

Salt

1 tsp crushed Ginger

1 tsp crushed Garlic

Curry

2 tbsp Oil

1 large Onion

2 Cardamom Pods

2 Cinnamon Sticks

2 Bay Leaves

1 Star Anise

Tbsp Fenugreek

1 tsp crushed Ginger

1 tsp crushed Garlic

1 tsp crushed Green Chilli

240g Pureed Plum Tomatoes

1 tsp Ground Coriander

1 tsp Ground Cumin

1 tsp Ground Red Chilli

Salt

1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric

1/4 tsp Ground Cardamom

1/4 tsp Ground Fennel

1/4 tsp Ground Garam Masala

1/8 tsp Ground Mace

Rice

3 cups Rice

6 cups Water

1/4 Onion, diced

1 Peppercorn

1 Clove

1 Bay Leaf

1 Cinnamon Stick

1 Cardamom Pod

3/4 tsp crushed Garlic

3/4 tsp crushed Ginger

Salt

Instructions

The instructions for the smaller quantity remains the same but you will need to cook it for less time once covered with foil. (20 - 30 minutes).

top tips and notes

Whole Garam Masala – Cooking this in the oil with the onions makes the most of it’s flavour and aroma.

Slow Cooking – Take your time with each layer because this is what makes it so special!

Caramelising onions – means you get the most deliciously sweet flavour out of them but keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.

Whole Garam Masala – Cooking this in the oil with the onions maximises it’s flavour and aroma.

Rice – I use long grain, aged Basmati rice in this recipe. I like Tilda or Mustafa rice because it is less likely to clump together.

Salt – I only add salt to the chicken layer here and that may seem odd but it works fine.

Taste as you go – Once the chicken layer is done, taste it and adjust before layering.

Kewra Water – A lot of people, add rose water or kewra water to the top layer of Biryani recipes but I don’t really like it so I avoid it.

Eggs – You can add serve this Biryani with boiled eggs.

Serve – This recipe is perfect served with Papadum, Pickles (Achaar), Kacumbur (Salad) and Raita. I love this Onion one.

reheating and storing biryani

This Biryani lasts covered in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Rice must be piping hot when reheated.

MORE GREAT INDIAN RICE RECIPES:

Keema Rice

Chicken Akni, One Pot Chicken and Rice

Prawn Biryani

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

Parda Biryani

ON THE SIDE

**if you make something from tiffin and tea, i would love to see your creations! don’t forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment below! we love to hear from you. safira x

5 from 8 votes

Mum's Biryani - Lamb or Chicken

My Mum's Biryani is. to. die. for. It is loved by all 6 of us siblings and our friends too. It is vibrant, aromatic and full of rich aromatic flavour. You can use either Lamb, Chicken or Veg in this recipe.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Biryani, Indian Biryani, Lamb Biryani, Mum's Biryani

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Servings 20

Calories 550 kcal

Author Safira

Ingredients

Saffron Milk

Few strands Saffron
100 ml Milk lighlty warmed

Potatoes

Oil For deep frying
5 Potatoes Peeled and chopped into 3cm cubes

Lamb

2.5 kg Lamb Shoulder Cut into 1 inch pieces, Bone in
2 Cinnamon Sticks
2 Bay Leaves
4 Peppercorns
3 Cloves
4 Cardamom Pods Lightly cracked open
½ Onion Roughly chopped
Salt
1/4 tsp Ginger Paste
1/4 tsp Garlic Paste

Curry

150 ml Vegetable or Sunflower Oil
6 Onions Sliced finely
2 Cardamom Pods
2 Cinnamon Sticks Small
2 Bay Leaves
1 Star Anise Optional
1 ½ tbsp Dry Fenugreek or use small handful fresh Fenugreek Leaves
3 tsp Ginger Paste
3 tsp Garlic Paste
3 tsp Green Chili Paste
800 g Tomato tin Pureed
2 tsp Cumin Powder
2 tsp Coriander Powder
3 tsp Red Chilli Powder
2 - 3 tsp Salt Adjust to your taste
2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Ground Cardamom
2 tsp Fennel Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
1 tsp Mace

Rice

10 cups Rice
Enough boiled water to cover the rice plus 1 - 2 inches Around 20 cups
1/2 Onion diced
4 Peppercorns
2 Cloves
2 Bay Leaves
1 Cinnamon Stick
3 Cardamom Pods crushed
1/4 tsp Garlic Paste
1/4 tsp Ginger Paste
Salt

Toppings

Handful Coriander Leaves Chopped
Handful Fried Onions
Orange Powdered Food colour

Instructions

Saffron Milk

Soak Saffron in Milk and set aside.

Potatoes

Heat OIl. Once hot, deep Fry Potatoes till golden brown then drain on kitchen paper.

Lamb

Boil meat with whole Spices (Cinnamon Sticks, Bay Leaves, Peppercorns, Cloves, Cardamom) Onion, Salt, Ginger and Garlic until tender. In this case it was lamb that took 45 - 50 minutes to become tender. (Test with fingers). I did not add water but keep checking to see if water is needed.

Curry

Heat Oil. Once hot add Onions. Brown Onions with whole spices (Cardmom, Cinnamon, Bay Leave, Star Anise) until a deep golden brown.
Add Fenugreek, Garlic, Ginger, Green Chilli and cook until fragrant.
Next add pureed Tomatoes, Cumin Powder, Corainder Powder, Red Chilli Powder, Salt, Turmeric Powder, Ground Cardamom, Fennel Powder, Garam Masala Powder and Mace.
Cook for 7 - 10 minutes on high.
Add the meat. Cook covered on low until the oil separates out at the sides. About 20 minutes. Add the Potatoes

Rice

Meanwhile par cook the rice with all the ingredients listed underneath the 'Rice' section - around 10 minutes. Then drain and set aside.

Layer

Add foil to bottom layer of pot. Layer the Rice and meat in alternate layers adding blobs of butter, fried onions, saffron and coriander in between until everything is used up.
Add some colour to the final layer if you wish by diluting powdered colour in water and sprinkling over the top of the rice.
Cover the pot with a layer of foil and a lid and cook over a low heat for about 1 hour. You can also do this in the oven.

Recipe Notes