Gosht Awadhi biryani

(serves 6) The most important ingredient in this classic biryani from Lucknow in North India is patience. Ask a traditional chef from the region for a short cut and all that he’ll tell you is ‘what is cooked on low heat tastes the best’.

Prep time: 20 minutes Ingredients 100g ghee (clarified butter) 1 tsp cloves 5cm cinnamon stick 2 bay leaves 1 tsp green cardamom 1kg mutton, cut into medium-size pieces,

Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours Method 1. Heat 75g ghee in a large heavy-bottomed pan and add half the cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and green cardamom. When spices begin to crackle, add mutton and season with salt. Sauté until mutton turns pale. Add ginger and garlic pastes along with most of the browned onions, saving some for garnishing. Sauté again for about 2-3 minutes. Add yogurt and continue to stir until oil begins to appear on side of pan. Add yellow chili powder, mace and cardamom powders. Stir well then add 2 cups of hot water. Cover and cook until mutton is tender, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, to prepare rice, boil remaining water in a large pan. Add remaining whole spices, salt and lemon juice. Add rice and cook until al dente. To assemble biryani, layer prepared mutton with rice in a large pan, ensuring bottom and top layers are rice. Mix together remaining ghee with cream and pour over assembled biryani. Garnish with mint leaves, ginger, reserved browned onions and saffron-infused water. Roll dough into a long rope, place it all around rim of pan, cover with a lid to ensure pan is well sealed. Heat an iron griddle and place sealed pan over it. Cook for 30 minutes. Keep aside for 15 minutes before serving with raita.

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7. * To prepare browned onions, slice onions as thinly as possible. Put them in a hot frying pan and sauté over medium heat until they turn brown and soft. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle a pinch of salt. Sauté until onions are well caramelised.