Ingredients
- onion 1 large, roughly chopped
- garlic 3 cloves, roughly chopped
- ginger 5cm chunk, peeled and roughly chopped
- green chillies 3, roughly chopped
- natural yogurt 6 tbsp
- lamb neck 1kg, cut into chunks
- basmati rice 350g
- dill 2 small bunches, chopped
- coriander a small bunch, chopped
- butter 100g, melted
- chilli powder 2 tsp
- cardamom pods 6, seeds removed and ground
- cinnamon stick 1, broken in half
- cloves 6, ground
- garam masala 2 tsp
- saffron a good pinch, soaked in 3 tbsp boiling water
- natural yogurt, naan breads and mango chutney or lime pickle to serve
Method
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Step 1
Put the onion, garlic, ginger, chillies and yogurt in a small food processor and whizz to a purée. Tip into a bowl, add the lamb and mix. Leave to marinate for 2 hours.
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Step 2
Rinse the rice a few times then drain well. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the rice then bring back to simmering and cook for 6 minutes. Drain. Mix in the dill and coriander.
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Step 3
Heat a couple of spoonfuls of the butter in a pan. Cook all the spices apart from the garam masala and saffron for a few minutes. Tip in the lamb and marinade and fry, turning until the lamb starts to colour a little. Add a splash of water, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour. Stir in the garam masala.
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Step 4
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Melt the rest of the butter.
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Step 5
Layer up the lamb, sauce and rice in an ovenproof casserole with a lid, drizzling with the rest of the butter as you go (try to leave the milky solids behind). Finish with a layer of rice then a final drizzle of butter, the saffron and its liquid. Cover tightly with a sheet of foil, put on the lid then bake for 30 minutes. Serve with extra yogurt, naan breads and mango chutney or lime pickle.
Nutritional Information
- Kcals 737
- Fat 40.2g
- Saturates 20.8g
- Carbs 54.1g
- Sugars 5.8g
- Fibre 2.6g
- Protein 38.5g
- Salt 0.7g
