Indian Lamb(Goat)Biryani (Dairy Free, Nightshade free)

Written by on in Indian, Main Course, Non-vegetarian dishes

  Biryani as I have mentioned before in my Chicken Biryani post is a ‘labor of love’!  The meat needs to be marinated perfectly and then cooked with the right blend of spices and then layered with rice and baked again for a perfect balance of flavors.  With chicken, you can do the ‘one pot’ quick biryani. I now make a quick Chicken Biryani in my Instant Pot. But with goat meat or lamb, you need to initially cook the mutton separately first since mutton/lamb is a tougher meat and takes longer to cook.

Between chicken and goat biryani, in our family, the goat is definitely the winner. However, because of the elaborate process involved, I do not make it that often. However, this past weekend, my husband and I were in the mood for a lamb biryani. So I made it and I also documented the recipe after I realized that I had not posted the recipe for goat biryani yet. The biryani turned out fabulous – the aroma of the biryani as it was being cooked made my family really hungry so much that I did not even get a chance to take a lot of pictures! In any case pictures cannot possibly do justice to the beautiful flavors.

The recipe is tomato free and dairy free except for the ghee which is also optional and you can skip it if you are sensitive to ghee. If you want to keep it completely night shade free, you can replace the red chili powder with black pepper. I made a dairy free raita from coconut yoghurt. (Recipe is in my cookbook ‘AIP Indian Fusion’!). The simple yoghurt raita was a perfect complement to the spicy biryani and we all ate so much that we were not hungry for a very very long long time afterwards 🙂

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Lamb(Mutton) Handi Biryani
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Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
!For cooking the lamb: 2 lbs goat meat/mutton or lamb, cleaned and cut into small to medium size pieces ½ tsp Red chilli powder ½ tsp Turmeric 1¼ tsp sea salt 2 tbsp coriander powder 1 tbsp garam masala ½ tsp cumin powder 4-6 black peppercorns 1 inch cinnamon stick 3 cloves 2 bay leaves ½ cup water 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp cumin seeds 2 medium size red onions, thinly sliced 3 tbsp green curry paste (see recipe for green curry paste below) 1 tsp Biryani masala or Garam Masala
RecipeIngredients
For cooking the lamb:
  • 2 lbs goat meat/mutton or lamb, cleaned and cut into small to medium size pieces
  • ½ tsp Red chilli powder (for nightshade free, use black pepper powder)
  • ½ tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1¼ tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp coriander powder
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • ½ tsp cumin powder
  • 4-6 black peppercorns
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 3 cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 medium size red onions, thinly sliced
  • 3 tbsp green curry paste (see recipe for green curry paste below)
  • 1 tsp Biryani masala or Garam Masala
For green curry paste:
  • 1 whole garlic head, peeled (about 10 large cloves)
  • 2 inch by 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
  • 1 small green (serrano) chilli (omit for nightshade free)
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For cooking the rice:
  • 3 cups long grain Basmati Rice
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 2 black cardamom pods
  • 1 star anise
  • 2 mace
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 cups water incl stock
  • ½ tsp salt (or per taste)
  • 6-8 strands of saffron dissolved in ¼ cup warm milk
  • 3-4 drops kewra essence
For assembling the biryani:
  • Fried onions
  • Fried potato slices
  • ghee or butter
  • 1 tsp saffron strands mixed with ½ cup warm coconut milk
  • fresh cilantro leaves
  • almonds / cashew nuts toasted in ghee or butter
RecipeInstructions
  1. In an instant pot (or pressure cooker) and add the meat along with the spices,salt and water ( and mix well using your hands such that the meat is well coated with the marinade. Cover the lid and pressure cook for 10 minutes (or 3 whistles). Let steam release naturally. Keep aside.
Making the green curry paste:
  1. Add all the ingredients for the green curry paste into the food processor and blend until you get a fine paste.
Making the lamb curry:
  1. Next heat a large wide bottomed pot on medium heat and add the oil. When hot, add the cumin seeds followed by the onions. Saute on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes and then add the curry paste (see above) and saute for 2 minutes stirring frequently. Then add the cooked meat along with any residual water into the pan and stir to mix well. Add the biryani masala (or garam masala) and stir. Continue to simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes until the curry becomes very thick. Turn heat off and keep aside.
Cooking the rice:
  1. Wash the rice well 2 times in cold water. Then keep aside.
  2. Now heat a large pot with water unto ¾ th of its capacity and let it come to a boil. Add the cumin, cardamom, bay leaf, mace and star anise to it. Add the washed rice and let it cook for 7 minutes (this will cook the rice to about 70%) . Drain the water from the rice using a thin mesh colander/strainer and leave the rice to cool off.
  3. Meanwhile deep fry some thinly sliced onions and potatoes (cut french fry style)in coconut oil. Keep aside.
  4. In a small pan, add some ghee and toast some cashew nut pieces and keep aside.
For assembling the biryani:
  1. Pre heat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large baking casserole, add a layer of the lamb / mutton curry followed by a layer of the cooked rice. Add a few of the fried onions and potatoes and drizzle some melted ghee or butter on top. Then add spoonfuls of the saffron coconut milk mixture.
  3. Repeat the above process until all the rice and the meat is over. Cover the casserole with Aluminum foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
  4. Garnish with toasted almonds and /cashew nuts and cilantro.

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25 Comments

  1. […] If you have ever had ‘Biryani’ before, then just the mention of the word is likely to tingle your tastebuds and evoke the memory of the wonderful aromas that is so characteristic of a good biryani. And if you are not served it shortly after, you will surely start experiencing cravings:) I have posted a detailed recipe for Chicken Biryani before. Biryani is indeed a labor of love. But over the years I have created several short cut versions too including the Handi Biryani. […]

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