Serves 4-6

This is by no means a traditional biryani, which would be cooked under a pastry crust, but my take on a curry-house favourite. If you can, marinate the meat overnight as this helps to tenderise it.

FOR THE MUTTON

500g mutton, diced into bite-sized pieces
15g Greek or natural yoghurt
1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger, plus a
2cm knob of fresh root ginger, peeled
1 crushed garlic clove, plus 2 cloves, peeled
1 tsp mild chilli powder
1/2 green chilli, seeded and roughly chopped
1 tsp coriander seeds
Pinch of ground turmeric
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
100ml single cream
Squeeze of lemon juice
Few drops of rosewater
Handful of coriander leaves

FOR THE RICE

1 large onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
250g basmati rice, rinsed
2 cinnamon sticks
4 star anise
4-5 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
Peel of 1/2 orange
Peel of 1/2 lemon
600ml hot lamb or chicken stock
Knob of butter

Method

1 Marinate the mutton in the yoghurt, grated ginger and crushed garlic for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.
2 Place the remaining ginger, garlic, chilli powder, chilli, coriander seeds and turmeric in a food processor and whiz to a fine paste. If necessary, add a little olive oil or water to get the paste moving in the processor.
3 Heat a large heavy-bottomed pan or a cast-iron casserole with a little olive oil. Tip in the onion and cook over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until softened. Stir in the spice paste and cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the mutton and yoghurt to the pan and season well. Stir in the cream and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid. Cook over a low heat for 11/2-2 hours until the mutton is tender. Stir the mixture occasionally and add a splash of water if the mixture looks too dry.
4 Now start preparing the rice: preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Sauté the onion in the oil in an ovenproof pan for 4-5 minutes until soft. Tip in the rice, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom and peel. Season and stir over a medium-to-high heat for 30 seconds. Add the stock, bring to the boil and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Transfer the pan to the oven for 20 minutes.
5 Remove the rice from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Mix through a knob of butter and season, fluffing the grains of rice with a fork to separate them.
6 Pile the rice on top of the mutton and sprinkle over the lemon juice and rosewater. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes to warm through.
7 Bring the pot to the table to serve. Stir through the coriander leaves and mix the rice and mutton together before piling on to individual plates.

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