Dum Biriyani
Layers of Basmati rice cooked with spicy marinated lamb, fresh herbs, and caramelized onions in a clay pot sealed with wheat dough
Equipment
- Clay pot or Dutch oven (stovetop)
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup water enough to make a dough
- a pinch salt
For the lamb marinade:
- 1½ lb boneless lamb
- 1 tbsp ginger peeled, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 3 Thai chili
- ⅓ cup roasted cashews
- 5 tbsp yogurt
- 1 tbsp Greek yogurt
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
- 2 tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1½ tsp garam masala powder
- 3 tsp salt
For the dum biriyani:
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- ½ cup mint chopped
- 2 red onions big, sliced
- ½ tsp saffron strands
- 1 tsp shahjeera
- 3 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)
- 1 cinnamon
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 mace
- 2 black cardamom
- 3 green cardamom
- 4 cloves
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp kewra water
Instructions
- Grind all the ingredients for the marinade.
- Wash, drain the lamb and mix the lamb with this spice marinade.
- Mix the lamb with the chopped herbs.
- Rub the marinade into the lamb and marinate the lamb for at least 6 hours overnight in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
- Sauté the sliced onions in a clay pot or Dutch oven with 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Caramelize the onions by sautéing for about 5-7 minutes. Keep most of the onions aside for the biriyani and reserve some for garnish.
- In 2 tablespoons of warm water, add the saffron strands and let them soak for 10 minutes. Keep this aside. In the same clay pot, heat the clarified butter or ghee. Do not let it burn. Add the shah jeera and season it.
- Add the lamb with the marinade and cook on medium heat.
- Cook the lamb for 10 minutes or until it thickens.
- Wash the Basmati rice in a sieve and keep aside.
- In a separate pot, boil water in a pot. Add 3 cups of the washed basmati rice with bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, mace, black and green cardamom, salt, and sesame oil.
- Boil the rice until it is only 70% cooked or partially cooked for 4 minutes. The rice must be grainy to touch.
- Drain the rice and keep aside.
- In the clay pot, layer the drained rice. Drizzle some ghee, saffron water, kewra water, and the cooked lamb.
- Then, repeat the layers again with fresh herbs and finally, top with caramelized onions, mint, and fresh coriander.
- Seal the lid of the clay pot with the wheat dough rolled into a long narrow roll 1" thick. Coil the roll on the brim of the pot. Place the lid firmly on the wheat roll and cook on low heat for 22 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the dum biriyani rest for 10 minutes. Cut the roll and open the pot and serve warm from the bottom up.
Notes
Notes:
- Caramelized onions add a unique flavor to the dum biriyani.
- Saffron water contributes to both the color, aroma, and flavoring of the rice.
Nutrition
Calories: 91kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 3gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 1178mgPotassium: 210mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 309IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 65mgIron: 1mg
