Indian Lamb Biryani

Name: Indian Lamb Biryani
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 6-8
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, fat trimmed off, cut into 1-inch cubes; MARINADE INGREDIENTS for the lamb:; 5 tablespoons peeled and roughly chopped fresh ginger root (5-inch by 2 inch piece or something comparable.); 6-7 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped (about 3 tablespoons); 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; A few grinds of fresh ground black pepper; SOAKING THE RICE Ingredients:; 2 cups basmati rice (Indian is best); CURRY SAUCE Ingredients; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 2 medium red or yellow onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced; 2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce; 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you like it); 1 tablespoon paprika (sweet, not hot); 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 teaspoon garam masala; Ingredients for PRE-COOKING THE RICE; 2 tablespoons ghee or butter; 2 teaspoons cumin seeds; 4 cardamom pods; 2 dried bay leaves; 2 cinnamon sticks; 1 red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced; 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) of saffron threads (about 1 gram or .04 ounces); 2 teaspoons kosher salt; CUCUMBER RIATA; 2 cups plain yogurt; 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped out with a spoon, and grated or finely chopped.; 1/2 cup chopped mint leaves (plus some for garnish, if you like)

October 3, 2014 Updated April 13, 2019 by Lisa 80 Comments

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Indian Lamb Biryani is a casserole of tender lamb curry and fragrant saffron rice. Two outstanding dishes combined into one company worthy casserole. Serve with cooling cucumber raita on the side.

I had a very biryani week. Biryani is an Indian curry and rice casserole that I’ve been hearing about, thinking about, maybe even dreaming about – for a long time. Finally, this past week, I immersed myself in it. It started when I was invited by a friend to take a cooking class at Whole Foods and I got to choose the dish we cooked. I picked biryani. We learned to make a very tasty, quick biryani with boneless chicken and precooked rice.

After that I came home and pulled every international cookbook and Indian cookbook off my shelves… I scoured the internet….and the cooking began. My (poor? lucky?) family had Biryani for dinner three nights in a row – lamb, chicken, lamb. The lamb biryani was the unanimous winner. This is definitely not of the “quick and easy” genre of recipes, but it’s SO worth the effort!

This lamb biryani recipe consists of two distinct dishes – succulent lamb curry and aromatic rice. Each component is delicious in its own right, and then the two are layered together in a casserole and baked.

Saffron is one of the key flavors in Indian Lamb Biryani. It’s a beautiful, aromatic spice, that consists of the delicate stigmas of a crocus flower. It’s a very popular spice in Indian cuisine. In this dish, saffron is used to infuse the rice with a beautiful yellow-orange color and that unique and exotic saffron flavor that words can’t describe. (Some say it tastes like a combination of honey and straw, but I don’t think that description does it justice.)

Saffron is one of the world’s most expensive spices but luckily it only takes a little bit to flavor the whole dish.

This Indian Lamb Biryani is packed with deep and exciting flavors and a good amount of heat. It’s definitely dinner-party worthy!

I think it’s important to serve Indian Lamb Biryani with a cooling, creamy, cucumber-mint raita to complement the heat of the dish. Your palate will thank you!

More Delicious Indian Recipes

• Saag Aloo: Indian Spinach and Potatoes
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• White Chicken Korma

Here’s the recipe for Indian Lamb Biryani. If you try this recipe, I hope you’ll come back to leave a comment and let me know what you think.