TURKEY BIRYANI

This is a real showstopper – and beats a drab turkey curry any day. Bring it to the table in its casserole dish for a centrepiece.

Hands-on time 45min, plus soaking and standing. Cooking time about 1½hr. Serves 8

◆ 500g (1lb 2oz) basmati rice ◆ 2tbsp vegetable oil ◆ 3 large onions, finely sliced ◆ 6 garlic cloves, crushed ◆ 6.5cm (2½in) piece fresh root ginger,

finely grated ◆ 1-2 green chillies, deseeded and finely

chopped ◆ 1 cinnamon stick ◆ 12 cardamom pods ◆ 2tsp garam masala ◆ 1tsp turmeric ◆ 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped ◆ 250g (9oz) natural yogurt ◆ 400g (14oz) cooked turkey, shredded ◆ Pinch of saffron to assemble ◆ 100g (3½oz) butter, melted ◆ ½tsp rose water, optional ◆ 20g (¾oz) flaked almonds, toasted ◆ Small handful coriander, chopped for the raita ◆ 250g (9oz) natural yogurt ◆ ½ cucumber, halved and deseeded

1 Soak rice in a large bowl of cold water for 15min. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large deep frying pan and cook onions with a large pinch of salt over low-medium heat for 30min, stirring regularly, until soft and deep golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. 2 Add garlic, ginger, chillies and cinnamon to pan with half the cardamom pods. Cook for 3min until aromatic; add ground spices and cook, stirring, for 2min. Add tomatoes with a splash of water; cook on high heat for 7-8min until starting to break down. Stir in yogurt, remove from heat. Season. Stir through turkey and set aside. 3 Put saffron in a bowl and pour over 100ml (3½fl oz) hot water. Set aside until needed. 4 Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drain rice and boil for 4-5min with the remaining cardamom pods, until rice is just tender but still firm in the middle. Drain well. 5 To assemble, pour half melted butter and 100ml (3½fl oz) water into a deep casserole dish (that has a tight-fitting lid); spoon in ⅓ of rice. Stir rose water into saffron-infused water and spoon ⅓ of this evenly over rice. Spread over half turkey mixture and ⅓ of onions. Add further layers of rice, saffron-infused water, turkey and onions. Top with final layer of rice and a sprinkle of saffron water (you should have some onions left; set aside). Drizzle over remaining butter. 6 Cover with lid and put on a medium-high heat until you can see steam, then turn down to a low heat and cook for 30min without lifting the lid. 7 Meanwhile, coarsely grate the cucumber and squeeze out excess water. Mix into yogurt with some seasoning. Cover and chill. 8 Once biryani has finished cooking, leave it off heat with the lid on for 10min, then scatter over the remaining onions with the flaked almonds and coriander. Serve with the raita. PER SERVING 509cals, 26g protein, 18g fat (8g saturates), 60g carbs (9g total sugars), 3g fibre