Keema Biryani, biryani with a twist

Keema Biryani is a delicious and flavourful dish that combines spiced minced meat (keema) with aromatic rice. It is packed with flavour and there is something very alluring about rice and keema, I just love it.

Introduction

The minced meat is cooked in a tantalising array of spices, until soft and juicy. Then added to the spiced rice.

Biryani is traditionally made with long-grain Basmati rice, known for its fragrant aroma and fluffy texture. When combined with the flavourful keema mixture, the rice absorbs the spices and juices, enhancing its taste and aroma.

Biryani is prepared in layers, with alternating layers of cooked rice and keema mixture. This layering technique allows the flavours to fuse together, creating a the perfect balance of rice and keema in every bite.

The dish can be customised according to your preference. Whether you like it spicy or mild, or a squeeze of lemon juice, you can adjust the seasoning and ingredients to suit your personal taste.

History of biryani

The word “biryani” is believed to have originated from the Persian word “birian,” which means “fried before cooking” or “roasted.” It is said that the Mughals, who were known for their culinary expertise, introduced biryani to India during their rule.

My take on this lamb keema biryani

I adore this lamb biryani, it is quicker to make than my chicken biryani, but definitely not lacking in flavour. It’s not a common biryani version I’ve come across, and I like that this is more unusual biryani dish. The mince meat makes an nice twist to the dish. You could also make the recipe with chicken mince meat instead of lamb. I only deep fry one onion for this recipe, but you could add another one if you want extra crunch in your biriani. You could also add a fried potato, cut it into small cubes and deep fry with the onions.

Tips for making keema biryani

I have used whole spices where possible, as it adds to the flavour. However, you could always switch these for coriander powder and cumin powder in the biryani masala. However I would stick to whole spices for the rice. You can also use a spice infuser/strainer to put the spices in, then add this to the rice pan when cooking the rice. This just means there will be less whole spices in the rice when serving the biryani, making it easier to eat. However I do personally love seeing the spices in the rice, just adds to the visual appeal for me.

I tend to prefer using tinned tomatoes in biryani, it adds to the richness of the flavour of the masala. But you could also use fresh tomatoes instead, I would use 2 -3 tomatoes . To make a smooth masala, I like to use a food processor to blitz the tomatoes with the green chillies, this also speeds up chopping time by hand.

If you deep fry the onions whilst the biryani masala is simmering, this will speed up time and you will be ready to put the biryani in the oven for “dum” (steaming) after 25 minutes.

Healthier alternative

If you are wanting to make this dish healthier, you can avoid deep frying the onions and potatoes and pop them in the air fryer. The biryani still turns out really well. However, when I am entertaining, I always go full pelt and fry everything.

See my video on Instagram or TikTok to see how to make this dish!

Ingredients for Keema Biryani masala

Feeds 6

Preparation 10 minutes, cooking time 55 minutes (including “dum” 30 minutes)

• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 onion sliced (deep fried until golden brown)
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (optional)
• 500 grams lamb mince meat
• 2 green finger chillies (finely chopped)
• 1/3 tin of chopped tomatoes (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup of natural yoghurt (250ml), whipped

Ingredients for Biryani rice

• 1 teaspoons of cumin seeds
• 1 cinnamon bark (1 inch long)
• 2 black cardamon
• 3 cloves
• 4 black peppercorns
• 3 green cardamon pods
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
• 3 mugs of basmati rice (800 grams approximately, I like using Tilda Pure Basmati rice)
• Water
• Yellow food colouring
• 2 bullet chilli peppers, sliced in half (optional)

Method

1. Wash the rice and leave to soak in cold water, for at least 30 minutes or ideally 2 hours.
2. Add the oil to a pan on medium heat, then brown the finely chopped onion. Once browned, add the garlic and ginger and stir through.

3. Next add the masala spices, tomatoes and green chillies and stir through. Add splashes of water if the mixture is too dry. Let it cook for a few minutes.

4. Then add the lemon juice and mince lamb meat. Break the mince up so it browns properly, let it cook for 10 minutes. After this time, the oil should start to separate from the masala.

5. Turn the oven on 50C. In large saucepan filled with around 2.5 litres of water, bring it to boil. This will be used to cook the rice.

6. Next add the yoghurt to the keema pan and stir through. Then turn the heat down and cover the pan with the lid. Cook for a further 10 minutes. Again after this time, the oil will separate again.

7. Once the water in the rice pan has boiled, add the soaked rice, rice spices (you can use a spice infuser/strainer) and bullet chilli peppers. Cook until the rice is cooked.

8. Once the rice has cooked (this should take around 10 minutes), drain the excess water off in a large sieve.

9. Next we need to start layering the rice and the keema biryani masala. Add half of the rice back into the large rice saucepan and add two or three drops of yellow food colouring, spread gently with a fork. You don’t want all the rice to be yellow, a mix of yellow and white is perfect.

10. Next add all the keema masala on top of the rice. Then add some of the fried onions on top of the keema. Spread it across the pan to make a full keema masala, onion layer.

11. Then add the remaining rice on top of the keema, again add 2-3 drops of yellow food colouring on the rice and spread gently with the fork. Add the remaining fried onions on top of the rice.

12. Then cover the saucepan with a lid and put in oven for steaming “dum” for 30 minutes, this really lets everything meld together and enhances the flavours.

13. Then serve immediately with boondi raita and enjoy!