Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 2 cups basmati rice
6 cups water
3 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon saffron threads
2 large yellow onions
4 tablespoons ghee plus 1 teaspoon
1 (1 ½-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
7 or 8 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tomato, quartered
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
2 tablespoons garam masala
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 to 1 ½ teaspoons ground Indian red chile
½ teaspoon turmeric
4 pounds lamb shoulder or leg, cut into 2-inch cubes
¼ cup golden raisins
3 or 4 serrano chilies, halved lengthwise (optional)
1 tablespoon pandanus essence
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Directions: |
Directions:In a bowl, wash the rice gently in several changes of cold water until the water runs clear. Drain it and soak it in warm water for 20 to 30 minutes. Boil 6 cups of water in a large saucepan. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt when the water comes to a full boil. Add the rice and stir a few times, cooking it for 4 to 5 minutes, until it is two-thirds cooked. (The longer the rice has soaked, the less time it will take to cook.) Drain the rice in a sieve, run cold water through it for a minute, and then spread it on a large platter or cookie sheet to cool. Set aside.
Heat the milk over low heat in a small pan until warm to the touch; remove from the heat and add the saffron threads to bloom. Set aside.
Slice 1 onion and coarsely chop the other. In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the ghee over high heat and fry the sliced onion, stirring constantly, until dark brown and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Leaving as much of the ghee as possible in the skillet, transfer the browned onions with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
Add the chopped onion to the same skillet and sauté over medium-high heat until it is lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer these browned chopped onions, along with the ghee from the skillet, to the bowl of a food processor. Add the ginger, garlic, and tomato and process into a paste. Add the yogurt, along with the garam masala, coriander, red chili, turmeric, and 1 teaspoon of the salt and process to blend for 1 minute. Set aside this marinade.
Clean the lamb cubes of any extra fat and sinews. Place in a mixing bowl and season with 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the marinade and mix well to coat all the lamb cubes; set aside for ½ hour.
Heat the slow cooker on high for 15 minutes before use. Spread the remaining teaspoon of ghee on the bottom and one inch up the sides of the slow-cooker insert.
Heat the previously used skillet on high with the remaining 1 teaspoon of ghee. Using tongs transfer half the lamb cubes to the skillet and sear them, turning to get even browning on all sides. Transfer to the prepared insert, and repeat with the remaining lamb. Add any remaining marinade to the insert and mix well; use a wet paper towel to clean any marinade off the sides of the insert before continuing.
Sprinkle half the fried onion slices over the lamb, then half the saffron milk, along with some of the strands, half the raisins, and half the sliced serrano chilies. Cover these ingredients with all of the rice and repeat with the remaining fried onions, saffron, raisins, and chilies. Sprinkle the pandanus essence evenly over the top. Cover the insert of the slow cooker with aluminum foil, and fold the foil over the sides of the slow cooker. Place the lid on the cooker and cook on low for 4 hours.
Remove the insert from the cooker and let the biryani stand for about 5 minutes. Serve hot. |
This recipe for Slow-Cooker Lamb Biryani is from