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Biryani

Biryani

Biryani represents the height of Indian culinary technique: multiple components prepared separately with precision, then assembled in layers where flavors permeate through steam cooking. This isn't a one-step rice dish; rather, it's an architectural construction where yogurt-marinated lamb develops tenderization and flavor, then cooks slowly with warm spices and tomato, while basmati rice is independently flavored with saffron infusion and whole spices. Upon assembly, the two elements marry through steam, creating a unified dish where lamb and rice are inseparable in flavor. Traditionally cooked during festivals and royal celebrations, biryani requires patience and multiple steps but rewards with sophistication.

Indian 6 hours 45 minutes Serves4
Lahori Mutton Biryani

Lahori Mutton Biryani

Mutton is marinated overnight in yogurt with browned onion, ginger-garlic, Kashmiri chilli, garam masala and dried plums (aloo bukhara, a Lahori signature). The marinated meat is slow-cooked in its marinade until tender and the masala has reduced to a thick, oil-slicked gravy. Basmati is parboiled in salted water with a sachet of whole spices. The biryani is built in layers: meat, rice, fried onion, saffron milk, mint, repeated; sealed under a tight lid for the dum.

Rice 6 hours 30 minutes Serves6-8
Mangshor Jhol

Mangshor Jhol

The wet-style mutton counterpart to the drier, slow-bhuna kosha mangsho - and the more everyday of the two. "Jhol" means a thin, soupy gravy and mangshor jhol is exactly that: bone-in goat or mutton cooked low and slow with potatoes in a light, aromatic broth that you ladle generously over rice. You heat mustard oil to smoking to take the raw edge off, temper whole bay and cinnamon in the hot fat, then brown the onions deeply and add a measured hand of turmeric to give the gravy its colour and weight. The bones contribute marrow to the broth as the meat tenderises over an hour or so, and the potatoes go in late enough that they soften without disintegrating. Eaten with a mound of plain steamed rice, a wedge of lime, and a thin slick of mustard oil scattered with raw onion on the side. A Sunday lunch dish for a Bengali household, served from the same pot it was cooked in.

Bengali 1 hour 50 minutes Serves4
Sindhi Biryani

Sindhi Biryani

Mutton on the bone marinates for 2 hours in yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, ground spices (red chilli, turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala), mint, coriander and salt. Sliced onions fry slowly in oil to deep gold, then crispy, and drain on paper (some go in the marinade, some on top of the biryani). The marinated mutton browns; tomatoes go in; the meat braises for 45 minutes until tender. Basmati rice parboils with whole spices and salt to 70% done; drains. The layering: mutton at bottom, half the rice, fried onions and prunes and green chillies, the remaining rice, more onions, saffron-milk and ghee on top. Dum cook for 25 minutes sealed.

Pakistani 4 hours 5 minutes Serves6