WONDERBAG MUTTON BIRYANI

1.5kg mutton pieces with bone 2 cups whole lentils

2 cups rice

2 stick cinnamon

4 cardamom

5ml cumin

4 green chillies

250ml sour milk

30ml fresh grated tomato 2 sprigs mint

2.5ml saffron

2.5ml turmeric

5ml salt

5ml dhania powder 7.5ml crushed red chillies 6 small potatoes

375ml ghee/oil

2 medium onions

2 cloves garlic, crushed 5ml grated ginger

Fry the sliced onions in half the ghee or oil until pale golden. Drain and cool. Leave one tablespoon of fried onions aside.

Place the meat in a large bowl. Add the saffron, ginger and garlic, sour milk, tomatoes, spices, remaining fried onions, whole green chillies and mint, and leave to marinate for 1 hour.

In the meantime, boil the lentils in salted water until done. Drain off in a colander. Boil the rice with 2 cardamom pods and 1 cinnamon stick until half cooked and drain. Peel the potatoes and cut each potato in 6. Fry the potatoes until light yellow in the ghee used for frying the onions. Set aside.

In a large flat-bottomed pot add the ghee used for frying and the half that was kept aside, and gently heat.

Sprinkle a handful of rice and lentils over the base of the pot.

Arrange the marinating meat and masalas carefully over the rice and lentils. Spread the remaining lentils over the meat. Arrange the potatoes on top of the lentils, then spread the rice on top.

Decorate with the fried onions that were set aside, sprinkle with any remaining ghee and 125ml water.

Close the pot, turn up the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Place the sealed pot in the Wonderbag on a cloth or mat and seal.

Leave for 4-5 hours, then open and serve with fresh dhania, poppadums and minted sour milk. Serves 6-8. Medium-difficult Preparation time: 30 minutes Stove top time: 35 minutes Wonderbag time: 4 hours Time save on stove: 1 hour