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Kheema (Minced Meat) Biryani

Delicious minced meat biryani with potatoes, no marinating time needed!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time3 hours 30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: lamb, rice
Servings: 6

Ingredients

Kheema

  • 600 g kheema (minced lamb)
  • 1 tsp full salt
  • ½ tsp full turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp full cumin seeds
  • 6 peppercorns
  • 1 small cinnamon piece a piece is approx 1-1.5 inch tall and 1 cm wide
  • 2 cloves

Rice

  • 2 ½ cups long-grain basmati rice pre-soaked for an hour
  • 4 medium bay leaves or 3 large bay leaves
  • 3 green cardamoms
  • 2 ½ tsp full salt
  • 1 tsp full oil

The Rest

  • 3 medium potatoes or 1 large and 1 medium chopped in 3cm by 3cm by 1.5cm pieces (approx 30 pieces in total)
  • 4 ½ serving spoons oil can use 4 serving spoons to reduce oil
  • 2 medium onions cut in short, thin slices or 1 large onion
  • 2 medium cinnamon pieces approx 1.5-2 inch tall and 1 cm wide
  • 6 peppercorns
  • 5 green cardamoms
  • 3 cloves
  • 2 tsp full crushed ginger
  • 2 tsp full crushed garlic
  • 1 ½ tsp heaped crushed green chilli
  • ¼ tsp full red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp level red chilli flakes
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 4 tsp full coriander powder
  • 1 tsp full cumin powder
  • 1 tsp heaped desi ghee if ghee is semi-solid, then can heap
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 medium tomatoes diced
  • ½ cup garden peas or petits pois
  • ⅓ cup sweetcorn
  • ¾ cup plain natural yoghurt
  • 4 whole green chillies
  • 1 handful fresh coriander roughly torn not chopped
  • ½ handful fresh mint roughly torn not chopped
  • 1 cup water or less depending on how cooked the rice is

Instructions

Prep

  • Wash and soak rice for 1 hour

Kheema

  • Add 600g kheema to a pot, add 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 6 peppercorns, 1 cinnamon stick and 2 cloves.
  • Turn the heat to medium-high, lid, and burn away the kheema's water (approx 10 mins) until most of the water has evaporated (so keep a little moist). Ensure to mix occasionally so kheema doesn't clump.

Rice

  • Whilst the kheema is cooking, fill another pot with water and put on full heat, no lid. Add 4 medium bay leaves, 3 green cardamoms, 2 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp oil.
  • Once water is boiling, add 3 cups rice and wait until the water comes to a boil again (around 10 minutes). Let the rice boil in the boiling water until half-cooked (around 5 minutes). The rice should be very slightly puffy but not fully cooked. Sieve out the rice.

The Rest

  • Whilst the kheema and rice are cooking, start preparing the potatoes. Peel and chop the potatoes and put in a large wok with 4 1/2 serving spoons oil. Don't forget to check the kheema and rice to see if they are cooked.
  • Fry the potatoes on medium-low heat (not high, otherwise they won't cook through) until their thin-line edges are golden (bits of golden lines) and they have a fuzzy texture. Mix often whilst frying. Whilst the potatoes are frying, start slicing the onions. Once potatoes are fried, remove them with a spoon.
  • In the same wok, add the onions, 2 cinnamon pieces, 6 peppercorns, 5 green cardamoms and 3 cloves. Sauté the onions on medium-low heat until they are golden. Whilst they are frying, start prepping for the next steps.
  • Remove 2 servings spoons worth of onions and oil and set aside in a bowl for later.
  • In the wok with the rest of the onions, add 2 tsp ginger, 2 tsp garlic, 1 1/2 tsp heaped green chilli, 1/4 tsp red chilli powder, 1 level tsp red chilli flakes, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 4 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder and 1 tsp heaped ghee. Sauté for a few minutes on medium-low heat.
  • Add 1/2 tsp salt and 3 diced tomatoes, lid and cook until the tomatoes are soft (approx 10 mins).
  • Add the kheema to the wok, mix and let sauté until the oil starts 'coming to the top'.
  • Add 1/2 cup peas and 1/3 cup sweetcorn. Mix 3/4 cup yoghurt thoroughly with a spoon and add it to the wok. Mix.

Layering

  • Layer in a large pot as follows:
    1/2 inch layer of rice, half the kheema, half of the potatoes scattered on top, 4 whole green chillies, a sprinkle of the fried onions (without the oil), 1/2 handful fresh coriander and 1/4 handful mint. The add another 1/2 inch layer of rice, the rest of the kheema, rest of the potato (scattered), a sprinkle of the fried onions, 1/2 handful coriander, 1/4 handful mint, a sprinkle of the fried onions, the remaining rice, the leftover oil of the fried onions (sprinkled) and up to 1 cup water (if you overboiled the rice in the previous step, omit water completely).
  • Seal the opening of the pot with foil so it becomes air-tight. Then lid the pot, place on the hob and put on medium-high heat, until the lid steams up (the mixture is boiling and steam should escape from the lid). If making a small amount in a wide pot, place the pot on a tawa when heating up so the kheema mixture doesn't burn.
  • Once steam escapes, place the pot on a pre-heated tawa. Turn the heat to medium-low and let cook until rice is done (approx 30 mins). Or place the pot in a pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 4 [180 C] for 30-45 mins.

Notes

Serve with chutney, cucumber raita and poppadoms.
If you want a milder, less spicy biryani, use 3 cups rice (3 tsp salt), but ensure to use 4 1/2 servings spoons oil.
Note about measurements/ingredients:
tsp level = filling the teaspoon up to the edges (as if you have levelled (solid) ingredients off with your finger)
tsp full = slightly heaped
tsp heaped = a good mound on top (much higher than 'tsp full')
serving spoon = a large spoon equivalent to 3 tbsp of liquid
cup = 237ml
For baking recipes, the tsp and tbsp are exact amounts and baking spoons are required.
Any green chillies used are the regular Indian green chillies, as opposed to the smaller, hotter bullet chillies. Any mint used is spearmint.