Indian Lamb Biryani – How to Make Mughlai Lamb Biryani

Indian Lamb Biryani – How to Make Mughlai Lamb Biryani by layering tender, juicy lamb/mutton, fragrant basmati rice, along with ghee, yogurt, and spices. Pro-Tips for a perfect, delicious and aromatic biryani every time. Served with chilled raita or as is, will leave you wanting more and more. This recipe is good for 4 people and extremely easy to make.

This Indian Lamb Biryani / Mughlai Lamb Biryani is the number 1 choice of everyone for our family/friends gatherings, festive parties or sometimes a big part of date night.

The Lamb Biryani in India, is also sometimes referred to as Gosht Biryani or even Mutton Biryani. 

Gosht is another word for red-meat (lamb, mutton, sheep, goat, etc). ‘Mutton Biryani’ is actually made using aged lamb (2+yrs plus) and the meat in it is slightly chewier.

Whereas in ‘Lamb Biryani’, it’s cooked using lamb (aged 1yr or less), the meat is tender, less fatty and more delicious.

(Here are 12 Quick Dessert Recipes to with this Recipe)

Fast forward to 2019, it’s still the BEST of my Recipes and this is my ‘Foolproof Method to Lamb Biryani’ Everytime!!!

Indian lamb biryani

What Do We Need for Indian Lamb Biryani :

This biryani is super easy to follow and the ingredients can be easily found in every household. I’m also mentioning some of the swaps you can do below:

• Lamb – prefer lamb shoulder, cut into bite-size pieces
• Basmati Rice – this is the BEST rice to use for biryani
• Whole Indian Spices – cinnamon, cardamom, cloves
• Powdered Indian Spices – cumin, coriander, garam masala
• Milk 
• Yogurt – thick 
• Onion
• Ginger+Garlic
• Mint + Cilantro (Coriander / Dhaniya)
• Saffron + Yellow + Orange Food Color (optional)
• Kewda Water (Optional) adds that sweet-fragrance to biryani

I know the list might seem little over-whelming but trust me once you have everything, it will look easier. 

I’m using Gel Food Colors + Saffron for that amazing rich yellow-orange color, but you can totally skip this step. Will not affect the taste of the biryani anyways.

Mughlai Lamb Biryani

Tools Needed to Make this Recipe:

2 Large non-stick  pot or Skillet
1 Large Lid to cover the non-stick pot.
1 Medium non-stick pan – For frying onions.
2 Small Bowl – For food color- Optional

How to Make Lamb Biryani Recipe:

Now that you have all the ingredients + tools needed to make the Lamb Biryani, let’s go ahead and get the process started.

To make the process even simpler, I’ve divided the process into 3 parts:

Cooking the Rice:

1. First thing first, we need to cook the rice in an aromatic mix of whole spices and saffron.
2. So we boil the water, add half the whole spices and then add rice n saffron.
3. Let this simmer and cook for few minutes till rice is almost done.
4. Turn off the heat and strain the rice.
5. Now, if you are using Food Colors, this is when you divide the rice and add separate food colors.

Cooking the Lamb:

1. We are using lamb with bone as that tastes the Best in biryani and gives a more succulent taste.
2. So we cook the onion, ginger, garlic with spices for a bit.
3. Then add lamb and milk and cook everything till lamb is tender.
4. Then add yogurt, mint, coriander and cook it further for few more minutes and turn off the heat.

Assembling the Mughlai Lamb Biryani: 

1. Now comes the most fun part and I would say the BEST Part, so let’s begin
2. In a large cooking pot, layer first with 2-3 ladles of cooked rice.
3. Then add cooked lamb – 2 ladles.
4. Then again add rice and lamb again till you reach the top.
5. Cover and let this cook for 5-6 minutes and turn off the heat.
6. Now is the time to add Kewda Water (if using).
7. Then you fluff or mix everything using a fork (that prevent rice from breaking).
8. Sprinkle fresh mint on top and enjoy

Pro Tips & Tricks:

Lamb – I prefer to use lamb with bones as it’s more succulent and tender once cooked. I always use lamb shoulder as they cook up perfectly but you can use any portion if that’s not available.

Basmati Rice – Any other rice will also do but the texture and little bit of flavors would differ from rice to rice.

Ghee: you can use clarified butter too or just add that much more oil.

Milk – using milk tenderize the lamb further to a melt in your mouth consistency.

Kewda Water: it’s aromatic-sweet fragrance water that gives biryani that sweet scent. Totally optional

What goes with Lamb Biryani:
I serve it with mint raita / plain yogurt or a light salad. You can also serve roasted/sauteed seasonal veggies with it.

What Wine Goes Well:
Biryani’s + Red Wines are pair made for each other!!! I like to serve it with a Pinot Noir Or Cabernet Sauvignons

Reheating Biryani:
You can use a microwave or oven to reheat the biryani. Always sprinkle some water or cold milk all over the biryani and reheat for 5 minutes in the microwave (stop/stir every 2 minutes) and 7 minutes in the oven.

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Yield: 4 People

Indian Lamb Biryani - How to Make Mughlai Lamb Biryani

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Indian Lamb Biryani - How to Make Mughlai Lamb Biryani by layering tender, juicy lamb/mutton, fragrant basmati rice, along with ghee, yogurt, and spices. Pro-Tips for a perfect, delicious and aromatic biryani every time. Served with chilled raita or as is, will leave you wanting more and more. This recipe is good for 4 people and extremely easy to make.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Pound Lamb – Washed & Cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 Cups Basmati Rice *
• 5 Tbsp Oil – (Use any flavorless oil of choice)
• 3 Tbsp Ghee **
• 2 Pinches Saffron - optional
• 1/4 Cup Milk - extremely important
• 2 Large Onions – thinly sliced.
• 1 Tbsp Ginger Paste
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Paste
• 1/2 Cup Thick Yogurt – whisked
• 1/2 Cup Water – For cooking Lamb
• 4 Cups Water – For cooking rice
• 2 Drops Kewda Water - optional
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro- roughly chopped
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Mint  - roughly chopped

Food Color - Optional but adds to the beauty of biryani

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• 3 Drops Orange Food Color
• 3 Drops Yellow Food Color
•  

Whole Indian Spice Mix:

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• 3 Big Bay Leaf
• 2 Sticks of Cinnamon
• 6 Big Black Cardamom - crushed
• 8 Cloves
• 10 Green Cardamom
•  

Powdered Indian Spice Mix:

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• 2 Tbsp Coriander Powder
• 2 Tbsp Roasted cumin powder
• 1½ Tbsp Garam Masala – store-bought OR homemade
• Salt – As per taste
• Red Chilies – As per taste

Instructions

How to Make Lamb Biryani Recipe :

The biryani process is divided into two major steps below:

Cooking the Rice:

1. In a large pot, add 4 cups water, 2 crushed black cardamoms, 3 cloves, 4 crushed green cardamoms.
2. Bring the water to a boil and then add 2 cups basmati rice, a pinch of saffron.
3. Cover and keep on high heat for a boil.
4. After the first boil, reduce the heat to the lowest and cook until rice is 2-3 minutes to do. (Takes 10 mins)
5. Once the rice is almost done, switch off the heat and strain the rice.
6. Add 1Tbsp ghee to cooked rice, mix and keep aside.

If Using Food Color: Take 2 separate bowls, add 3 Tsp milk in each & add orange color in the first bowl and yellow color in the second bowl.

1. Divide the rice into two bowls and mix evenly to cover the cooked rice in separate colors.
2. Once you have the desired color mix, keep the rice aside.

Cooking the Lamb:

1. In a large pan, heat oil+2 tbsp ghee, add onions and cook till blackish-brown OR caramelized. (Takes 2-3 mins)
2. Now remove half the onions and to the same pot add the remaining whole spices mix and stir.
3. Add ginger+garlic paste, lamb, powdered spices, milk and cover the lid and reduce heat to low, cook until lamb is tender and almost done. (Takes 10-12 mins depending on the quality of lamb).
4. After the lamb is tender, add coriander, mint, yogurt, and cook for another 5-7 minutes and switch off the heat.

Layering the Lamb Biryani: 

1. Take a large pot, pour 2 ladles or more rice on the bottom of the pot.
2. Spread 2 ladles of cooked lamb over it.
3. Sprinkle some caramelized onion and repeat the same rice-lamb-onion combination till the pot is almost full.
4. Cover the biryani and cook on low heat for 5-6 min. Switch off the heat and add Kewda Water (if using).
5. Give the biryani a light stir to mix colored rice, lamb pieces, onion.
6. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle freshly chopped mint leaves.
7. Serve hot with chilled raita, sliced onion, etc.

Notes

Basmati Rice – Any other rice will also do but the texture and little bit of flavors would differ from rice to rice.

Ghee: you can use clarified butter too or just add that much more oil.

Kewda Water: it's aromatic-sweet fragrance water that gives biryani that sweet scent. Totally optional

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 678Total Fat: 61gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 36gCholesterol: 158mgSodium: 438mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 9gSugar: 15gProtein: 42g