Mince Biryani Recipe
Cook Time ~ 2 - 3 hours (depending on multi tasking ability)
Yield ~ 8 servings
Ingredients
Rice
2-2.5 cups basmati rice
1/2 tsp tumeric
salt to taste
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
2 cardamom pots
2 pieces cinnamon stick
3 good pinches saffron
Water to cook
Meat marinade
2 lbs lamb mince (ground lamb/meat of choice)
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2-3 jam tomatoes
1 bunch mint
1-2 green chili pepper (like Thai green chili)
8 cloves garlic
1 tsp ginger paste or crushed
1 tap turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
6 Tbsp Durban red masala/red curry powder
Other
4 russet potatoes (peeled and cut into 4s or 8s if they are large)
1 large onion diced
1 bunch cilantro leaves removed
1/4 cup lentils
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 Tbsp butter
salt to taste
Egg yellow food color
1/4 cup water
Method
Work at your own pace and in layers. If you are able to, you can do multiple steps at the same time. If you are beginner then take a slower pace doing 1 or 2 layers at a time.
Marinate the meat - Blend tomatoes, mint, garlic and green chili in a blender. Add blended tomato mix and all marinade ingredients to the ground lamb in a bowl. Using a fork, press all the ingredients into the meat until well mixed. Set aside.
Place lentils in a small pot with water. Boil for about 30 - 45min. This can boil while you do other steps. Once cooked, drain, sprinkle with some salt and set aside.
Boil/Cook the rice - Rinse the basmati rice. Add all the rice ingredients above and cook the rice until just cooked. (Do not overcook!) My method is to boil on the stove with lots of water for 15 - 20 min. Drain. Using a large spoon fish out the bay leaf, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon stick pieces. Set aside.
Fry potatoes - Place the peeled and cut potatoes in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 2 min at a time (1 min at the end) until a fork goes through easy (do not over cook so it does not fall apart). Carefully remove, add salt to taste and a little egg yellow food color. Shake the dish to evenly distribute. In a large non stick frying pan on medium high heat, add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil. Shallow fry the potatoes to give it a nice crisp golden coating. Add more butter and oil if necessary.
Fry Onions - In a large flat oven safe pot add the rest of the butter and 1 Tbsp oil. Fry the onions until golden. Drain and remove half the onions. Set aside.
Cook the meat - Preheat the oven at 375 deg F. In the pot with half the onions still on the heat, add another Tbsp of oil if necessary and add the marinated meat. Cook on medium high heat stirring to be sure the meat breaks up as it cooks. Add salt to taste. Cook for 10 - 15 min until the meat is cooked through.
Layer (the best part)
Layer 1 - Flatten the meat into a single layer.
Layer 2 - Sprinkle the rinsed cilantro leaves evenly over the meat.
Layer 3 - Sprinkle the lentils evenly over.
Layer 4 - Pace the potatoes evenly spaced in a single layer.
Layer 5 - Spoon the rice evenly over.
Layer 6 - Sprinkle with the fried onions.
8. Move to oven - Drizzle with 1/4 cup of water. Cover with foil or oven safe lid and place in oven for ~ 45 min allowing all the flavors to blend together.
9. Carefully remove. Use a large spoon to serve making sure to get some of each layer.
10. Best served with cool cucumber mint raita!
This recipe idea comes from expert cook Shandini.
Biryani is always a favorite but does take some work and time. This is an easy version of a biryani. It makes it less complicated allowing one to prepare each layer separately then combine. You can salt along the way and not get overwhelmed by the many ingredients.
Typically we make lamb, chicken or vegetable biryani. My friend Shandini suggested I try a mince biryani and it turned out great! I was able to skip the longer meat cook time and also not have to cut the meat and marinate overnight.
Depending on your skill level there are a few steps one can do at the same time. If you are a beginner, take your time and doing it at your own pace. After you have done it once, you will gain confidence to do more.
Overall any biryani takes some work and has clean up but it's definitely worth it!
Try out the cool cucumber mint raita to go with it
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