Indian cuisine · Dough, Pasta & Rice

Kolkata Biryani

Bengali biryani with tender lamb, whole saffron-yellow potatoes and a halved egg per portion.

Ingredients · for 6 servings

• 1 kg lamb shoulder (in pieces)
• 600 g basmati rice
• 6 small waxy potatoes
• 6 eggs
• 250 g yogurt
• 3 large onions
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp cinnamon and 3 cloves
• 1/2 tsp saffron threads
• 4 tbsp ghee
• 200 ml oil, salt

Instructions

1. Peel and halve the potatoes, hard-boil the eggs for 9 min, shock in cold water and peel; slice the onions into strips and deep-fry in the oil for 10 min until golden brown.
2. Mix the lamb with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, cinnamon and cloves, half the fried onions and salt, and marinate chilled for at least 1 hour.
3. Brown the potatoes all over in the frying oil for 6 min, remove and rub with a little saffron and salt – in Kolkata they are the real star of the dish.
4. Sear the marinated lamb in 2 tbsp ghee, add 300 ml water and braise covered for 45 min until tender and the sauce has thickened; add the potatoes for the last 10 min of cooking.
5. Soak the rice for 30 min and parboil in salted water for 5 min, then layer the meat, potatoes, eggs and rice, top with saffron soaked in warm water, remaining ghee, garam masala and fried onions, and seal the pot airtight.
6. Dum-cook over the lowest heat for 30 min, rest for 10 min, and plate so each serving gets one potato and half an egg.