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🇮🇳 Main · India
Hyderabadi Lamb Biryani
Spiced lamb and birista layered under just-parboiled basmati, sealed and steamed dum-style on the lowest heat.
Birista — deep brown onions
25–30 minutes slow-fried; the soul of Hyderabadi flavour
Marinate the lamb overnight
Yoghurt + crushed birista works the meat for hours
Rice 3/4 done, never full
Boil 4–5 minutes; the dum steam finishes it
Sealed-lid dum cooking
Wet dough seal + lowest heat + 10-min off-heat rest
Ingredients 6 servings
- 800 g bone-in lamb shoulder or leg, cut into 4 cm pieces
- 500 g basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes in cold water and drained
- 4 large onions, very thinly sliced (about 600 g)
- 200 g full-fat yoghurt
- 50 g ghee + 80 ml neutral oil
- 3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 green chillies, slit lengthwise
- 2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp salt
- Whole spices: 1 cinnamon stick, 4 green cardamom + 2 black cardamom, 4 cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp shahi jeera, 1 tsp black peppercorns
- A pinch of saffron infused in 60 ml warm whole milk
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp chopped mint and 2 tbsp chopped coriander
- 1 tbsp rose water (optional, traditional)
- A piece of soft dough or a sheet of heavy foil for sealing
How to make it
- 1Heat the ghee and oil in a wide heavy pan over medium heat and fry the sliced onions slowly for 25–30 minutes, stirring often, until deeply golden brown (birista), then drain on paper, reserve the oil in the pan and keep half the onions for layering.
- 2Combine the lamb with the yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, half of the fried onions crushed in your hand, chilli powder, turmeric, salt, lemon juice and a teaspoon of the shahi jeera, mix thoroughly and rest at least 2 hours or overnight in the fridge; tip the marinated lamb back into the reserved onion oil, add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaf, and cook covered over low heat for an hour to an hour and a quarter, until the lamb is tender and the gravy has reduced to a thick coating.
- 3Bring a deep pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil with the rest of the whole spices and a tablespoon of oil, add the soaked basmati and cook just 4–5 minutes until the grains have lengthened and are about three-quarters done — they finish in the steam — then drain quickly and gently.
- 4In the same pan over the lamb, spread the rice evenly, scatter the remaining fried onions, chopped mint and coriander, and the green chillies on top, then drizzle the saffron milk in slow streaks across the surface and the rose water if using.
- 5Seal the lid with a strip of wet dough or a tight wrap of foil, set on the lowest heat for 25–30 minutes, then turn off the flame without lifting the lid and rest sealed for another 10 minutes — break the seal at the table and plunge a long spoon to the bottom to lift straight up, so each portion comes out with both rice and meat, never stirred together.
Tip: Layer the par-cooked rice and meat in a heavy pot, seal the lid with dough, and steam (dum) on the lowest heat for the final 20 minutes.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Calories 780 kcal
Protein 38 g
Carbs 78 g
Fat 32 g
Fiber 3 g
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
🍚 Steamed basmati rice
🫓 Warm naan or roti
🥒 Cool cucumber raita
🥭 Mango chutney
