Mumbai to Maine!

A culinary adventure across the Atlantic

  • Home
  • SHOP
  • About
  • Podcasts
  • Media
  • Video
  • Contact

COOKING ONLINE WITH CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL’S MILK STREET COMMUNITY

June 29, 2022 by Cherie Scott

I had a blast teaching another Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street virtual class. I’m still amazed that 300 guests from the food obsessed Milk Street Community joined in to cook with me from all over the world on my debut class back in March.
Yesterday’s workshop was more intimate and sold out again! I walked my fabulous guests through every step of an iconic mouthwatering Hyderabadi/Kolkatta Lamb Biryani -start to finish! These workshops are like mini master classes and we get to dig deep into a recipe and nerd out on a signature dish!
Biryani is a true labor of love and brings back a flood of memories. My mother slaved over it for days and fed close to 40 people at each of our family celebrations back in Mumbai. Biryanis date back to the 1600’s when Mughal emperors entertained and feasted on it. This signature dish cannot be thrown together in a rush. It demands love; patience; attention to detail and a bit of planning ahead. But when you take your first morsel of saffron-kissed rice and melt-in-your-mouth Indian-spiced lamb be prepared for a symphony of flavor to explode in your mouth. Open a bottle of your best wine: this lamb feast is fit for a king and calls for nothing less than a celebration!
Finally three big shoutouts 🔊
The gorgeous Maine Tasting Center and co-founders Lisa Gross, Andy Gross and Sara Gross for being such attentive and helpful hosts throughout the evening. Be sure to put the Maine Tasting Center on your lists of places to visit this summer for a taste of Maine’s finest cheese, wine, beer and eats.
Guy Scott for always making me look and sound good – you are literally the BEST!
Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street‘s talented Assistant Director of Education, April Dodd, for moderating the Biryani class with such flair!
Check out the recipe here!

MOM’S LAMB BIRYANI

Makes 8 to 10 hearty portions
PART 1: MARINATE THE LAMB
Ingredients:
2 cups thick Greek yogurt, beaten with a spoon
2 tablespoons turmeric
2 tablespoons garam masala
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons garlic paste (available in tubes in the produce section of large grocery stores, or in Indian groceries)
2 tablespoons freshly ground ginger or ginger paste (available in tubes in the produce section of large grocery stores, or in Indian groceries)
2 teaspoons salt
Juice of 2 limes
4-5 pound leg of lamb cut into 2-inch pieces

Instructions:
Mix the yogurt, spices and lime juice together in a large glass bowl. Add the lamb pieces and coat with the marinade. Cover with plastic, refrigerate and let the meat marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
PART 2: MAKE THE GRAVY
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons ghee or salted butter
4 yellow onions, sliced lengthwise
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 6 pieces each
2 yellow onions, chopped ( yes, another 2 yellow onions)
4 large tomatoes, chopped
2 cups chopped cilantro

Instructions:
Remove the marinated lamb from the refrigerator and let it reach room temperature, about 2 hours.
Add 2 tablespoons of the ghee to a medium-sized skillet. When the ghee is warm, add the white onions and sauté for about 8 minutes on medium-high heat until they start turning brown; set aside. (You should have about 2 cups.)
Add 2 more tablespoons ghee to the now empty skillet and pan-sear the potatoes on one side on medium high heat about 5 minutes, until they are crispy brown. Turn the potatoes over, cover the pan and let the potatoes steam another 5 minutes; set aside.
In a 3-quart oven-proof pot or Dutch oven, sauté the yellow onions in the remaining 2 tablespoons ghee for 5 minutes on medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and fry for another 5 minutes. Add the marinated lamb and cook until it changes color, about 10 minutes. Add 3 cups hot water, the cilantro and the reserved lamb bone. Cover the pot and simmer on low on the stove top until the lamb is tender, approximately 11/2 hours. Resist the urge to peek!
After 11/2 hours, add the reserved pan-seared potatoes and 1 cup of the reserved caramelized onions to the pot to thicken the gravy.
Re-cover the pot and simmer for another 25 minutes.
PART 3: MAKE THE RICE
Ingredients:
3 cups basmati rice
3 tablespoons salt
4 (1-inch) cinnamon sticks
15 whole cloves
4 black or 10 green cardamom pods
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
4 Turkish bay leaves
Red 40, Yellow 5 or Yellow 6 food coloring, a few drops each
1/4 cup milk
Large pinch of saffron

Instructions:
While the lamb is simmering, soak the rice in 3 cups of water for 25 minutes. Run your fingers through the grains to help remove the starch; do this gently so the grains don’t break. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve.
Fill a large pot with 15 cups water and the salt. Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cumin and bay leaves.
Bring the spiced water to a roiling boil. Gently add the basmati rice. Boil the rice until it is three-quarters of the way cooked. Keep an eye on it and check a couple of grains after 5 minutes to make sure it is parboiled and not overcooked. The grains of rice should feel a bit starchy or gritty in the middle, as if they could crack in your hand. The rice will finish cooking in the oven with the lamb.
Drain the rice, leaving in the whole spices. Pour the drained rice into the pot with the lamb. Add the food coloring.
Warm the milk, add the saffron and stir gently. Let steep for a couple of minutes at the most.
PART 4: ASSEMBLE THE BIRYANI
Garnish with:
2 hard-boiled eggs, halved
Handful of toasted cashews
Chopped cilantroChopped mint

Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 335 degrees F.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the remaining caramelized onions over the pot with the lamb and rice. Save the remaining caramelized onions for garnish.
Pour the warm milk mixture onto the lamb and rice in circles. Do not stir. Close the lid and bake the lamb for 35 minutes.
Arrange the lamb biryani on a large platter. Garnish with the last ½ cup of caramelized onions, the eggs, cashews and a sprinkle each of cilantro and mint.
To serve, dig a flat serving spoon into the rice, being sure to go to the bottom so you get meat, rice and potatoes in every portion.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

« MUMBAI TO MAINE WALKS THE 2022 FANCY FOOD SHOW IN THE BIG APPLE!
Seal Harbor Annual Fair »

About Me

Hi, I'm Cherie Scott. Welcome to Mumbai to Maine where I reconnect with my cultural roots through family recipes and nostalgic anecdotes. I hope this blog inspires you to dig deep and share your culinary connections with me so we can journey together. I would love to hear from you.

Read More…

Let’s Connect…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Search Recipes

Recent Posts

  • Seal Harbor Annual Fair
  • COOKING ONLINE WITH CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL’S MILK STREET COMMUNITY

Archives

  • August 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • June 2021
  • February 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • January 2018
  • February 2016
  • May 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015

Let’s Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • Seal Harbor Annual Fair
  • COOKING ONLINE WITH CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL’S MILK STREET COMMUNITY
  • MUMBAI TO MAINE WALKS THE 2022 FANCY FOOD SHOW IN THE BIG APPLE!
  • NISID HIAJRI, BLOOMBERG OPINION EDITOR IN MY KITCHEN
  • MUMBAI TO MAINE HOSTS MSMT MOTHER’S DAY LUNCHEON FUNDRAISER AT MAINE TASTING CENTER

Copyright ©2023 · Mumbai to Maine™ - All Rights Are Reserved