Easy Cape Malay Biryani Recipe

Ingredients

- 1kg mutton or lamb, cubed

- 15ml grated ginger

- 10ml garlic, finely chopped

- 5ml salt or enough for taste

- 100ml cooking oil

- 300ml hot water

- 6-7 potatoes, peeled and quartered

- 625ml Basmati rice

- 250ml lentils

- 3 onions, sliced

- A few dollops of butter

Marinade:

- 3 sticks cinnamon

- 5 cardamom pods

- 2 green chillies

- 2,5ml turmeric

- 5ml roasted masala

- 30ml gharam masala

- 5 whole cloves

- A few strands saffron

- 1 tomato, grated

- 250ml buttermilk

Method

Wash and drain meat in colander.

Rub ginger, garlic and salt into meat.

Combine marinade ingredients and marinade meat for about 3 hours.

Boil lentils until tender (for about 20 minutes), rinse and drain.

Wash rice until water runs clear and drain.

Heat 50ml oil in a large pan over medium heat, add rice and toss to coat well.

Add 100ml hot water to rice and cook covered over medium heat for 5 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and fry the potatoes until golden brown.

Remove the potatoes and set aside.

Add the meat, marinade and add two-thirds of the onions to a saucepan and cook covered over medium heat for about 30 minutes.

Remove meat and set aside.

In saucepan, lay ingredients as follows: potatoes, rice, meat, potatoes, rice, meat and finally the lentils and reserved onions on top.

Dot with butter and sprinkle with 200ml hot water.

Cook covered over high heat for 5 minutes, then simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour over low heat.

Alternatively, you can layer the ingredients in a glass baking dish and bake in the oven at 180°C for roughly an hour (or until the rice and meat is nice and tender).

To serve: Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with atjar or sambal.