Lucknowi Mutton Biryani

Ingredients

• 1 kg bone-in mutton, cut into medium pieces (leg and shoulder work well)
• 500 g aged basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 4 large onions (about 500 g), thinly sliced
• 150 ml cooking oil, for frying the onions
• 1 cup plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 4 green chillies, slit
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp salt for the mutton, plus more for the rice water, to taste
• 3 tbsp ghee, divided
• 2 black cardamom pods
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 5 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick, about 5 cm
• 1 blade of mace (javitri)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp shahi jeera (black cumin) or regular cumin seeds
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
• ½ cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup warm milk
• 1 pinch saffron threads, soaked in the warm milk
• 1 tbsp kewra water
• 1 tsp rose water
• 400 ml water, for cooking the mutton

Instructions

1. Wash the rice in several changes of water until it runs almost clear, then soak it in plenty of cold water. Set it aside while you prepare everything else.
2. Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat and fry the sliced onions, stirring often, until deep golden and crisp at the edges. Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto paper towels; they will crisp further as they cool. Keep 2 tablespoons of the onion oil for the mutton.
3. In a large bowl, combine the mutton, yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, nutmeg, lemon juice, 2 tsp salt, slit green chillies and half of the fried onions crushed with your hands. Mix well, cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
4. Heat 2 tbsp ghee and the reserved onion oil in the heavy pot. Add the black and green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, mace, bay leaves and shahi jeera, and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
5. Add the marinated mutton and stir over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes until the meat changes colour and the yogurt has thickened. Pour in the water, bring to a simmer, cover and cook on low heat until the mutton is almost tender when pierced with a knife, and the gravy is thick and reduced to about 1 cup. Add a splash of hot water if it dries out early.
6. While the mutton cooks, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil with 2 tbsp salt. It should taste clearly salty. Drain the soaked rice, add it to the water and boil for 5 to 6 minutes until the grains are about 70% cooked: they should snap when bitten but no longer be hard in the centre. Drain immediately.
7. Spoon out any excess oil floating on the mutton, leaving the thick gravy in the pot. Level the meat, then scatter over half the mint and coriander and a third of the remaining fried onions. Spread half the rice on top.
8. Add the rest of the mint, coriander and half of the remaining onions, then the remaining rice. Drizzle the saffron milk, kewra water, rose water and the last 1 tbsp ghee over the top and finish with the remaining fried onions.
9. Cover the pot with foil, then press the lid on tightly so no steam escapes. Place it on a hot tawa over the lowest heat and cook on dum until the rice is fully tender, the mutton is soft and steam smells sweetly of saffron.
10. Turn off the heat and rest the pot, unopened, for 10 minutes. Gently fold the rice from the edges to the centre with a flat spoon so the layers mix without breaking the grains, and serve hot.

Tips

• Use aged basmati if you can; it elongates well and stays separate. Do not overcook it before layering, because it finishes cooking in the steam.
• The mutton should be nearly tender before layering. If it is still tough after 50 minutes, cook it longer before you add the rice, or use a pressure cooker for 20 minutes on high.
• Seal the pot well. If steam escapes, the rice on top stays hard; a strip of dough around the rim works best.
• Lucknowi biryani is mild and aromatic rather than fiery. Adjust the chillies to taste, but do not overpower the kewra and saffron.