Recipe: Lamb Biryani & Crunchy Filo Rosettes

Nothing takes me back home more than eating this delicious dish with its fragrant layers of saffron rice, fried onions and flavourful curry

Recipe: Extracted from The Laden Table: Recipes to share, infused with spice by Ashia Ismail-Singer

Serves: 8–10

This is my mum’s recipe (her version is chicken) and it is hands down one of the best biryanis! We all say that, right, about our mother’s cooking? But seriously, nothing takes me back home more than eating this delicious dish with its fragrant layers of saffron rice, fried onions and flavourful curry. It’s a beautiful dish to serve at an occasion or celebration. Traditionally, biryani is cooked in a pot and then sealed with dough to create steam, which is referred to as dum. Mum always just covered the pot with a tight-fitting lid.

To really wow your guests, use filo roses to create a sort of seal and make the dish look spectacular. I have used this filo inspiration from a dessert I made. It has a very special place in my heart.

INGREDIENTS

For the curry:
1½ cup oil
5–6 small potatoes, peeled, halved
2 onions, sliced
5cm cinnamon stick
2–3 green cardamom pods
2–3 whole cloves
4–6 whole black peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1–2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp ground paprika
1½ tsp salt
ground black pepper
2¼ cups tomato passata or puréed tomato
2–3 cloves garlic, crushed
1kg lamb (or chicken), cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp white vinegar

For the saffron rice:
4 cups basmati rice
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter or ghee
8 cups just-boiled water
4 tsp salt
red and yellow food colouring
¼ tsp saffron
4 boiled eggs, cut in half lengthways
handful of chopped fresh coriander

For the filo rosettes:
10–12 sheets store-bought filo pastry
150g melted butter
oil or ghee to drizzle
Persian tea rose petals to decorate (optional)

For serving:
Cucumber raita
Tomato & onion kachumber

METHOD

For the curry: Heat ¾ cup oil in a small frying pan and fry the potatoes until golden, about 10 minutes.

In a large saucepan, heat ½ cup oil and fry the onions until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Add the whole spices to the same oil and fry for 1 minute, then add powdered spices, salt and pepper, passata and garlic, and cook over a low heat for 6–8 minutes. Add the lamb pieces and cook, covered, for a further 10 minutes.

Add tomato paste, vinegar and fried potatoes and simmer until sauce clings to the meat, about 10 minutes. If it starts catching on the bottom, add a splash of water. The sauce should be a thick consistency and not too runny. Turn off the heat.

For the rice: Soak the rice in water for 20–30 minutes. Drain then wash the rice until the water runs clear.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and butter, add the rice and stir until it just starts to become translucent, then add just-boiled water and salt. Allow to boil for 1–2 minutes, then turn the heat down to low and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes until the water has evaporated. The rice should be cooked, fluffy and separated.

Mix 1 cup of the cooked rice with a drop of red and yellow food colouring mixed with a little water. Soak the saffron in 1 tablespoon just-boiled water for a few minutes then stir into the coloured rice and set aside.

Place a layer of curry into a large 2-litre capacity ovenproof pan. Add a layer of cooked white rice to the pan, then a layer of the curry, and carry on until you have 3–4 layers, ending with rice.

Place the boiled eggs on top and then add your saffron rice, fried onions and chopped coriander.

Preheat the oven to 180°C bake.

For the filo rosettes: Unroll the filo pastry and cover with a damp cloth. On a clean work surface, one at a time, place a pastry sheet with the long side towards you and brush with butter. Fold roughly lengthways and then roll up to form a rosette. Repeat with remaining filo. Place each rosette on top of the biryani until it is fully covered.

Drizzle with a little oil or ghee around the edges so it drips down the sides of the biryani.

Bake for 20–25 minutes or until the filo roses are golden.

Decorate with Persian tea rose petals, if desired. Serve hot with a cucumber raita and tomato and onion kachumber.

Tip: This beautiful dish can also be made vegetarian by replacing the meat with 1kg of mixed mushrooms — portobello, shitake, white or brown button — or other vegetables of your choice.

You can skip the filo pastry. Instead, layer your biryani in a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Put on the stove, drizzle ghee or oil down the sides of the pan and cook on low heat for 15–20 minutes, lid on.

Cucumber Raita

Makes: 1–2 cups

INGREDIENTS

400g Greek yoghurt
½ cup diced cucumber
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
½ tbsp chopped fresh mint
salt and ground black pepper
sprinkle of chilli powder

METHOD

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Tomato & Onion Kachumber

Makes: 200–300ml

INGREDIENTS

1 large tomato, diced
1 onion, diced or 1 spring onion, sliced
½ tsp chilli powder
¼ tsp salt
dash of white vinegar

METHOD

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Serve as an accompaniment to curry and rice dishes. Best eaten on the day.


The Laden Table: Recipes to share, infused with spice by Ashia Ismail-Singer, photography by Lottie Hedley, published by Bateman Books, RRP $59.99, release date April 2024.

Why you should add more nashi pears into your meals

Whether you add it to a fruit salad, or use it to tenderise your steak, nashi is a great addition to every garden and kitchen.

Words: Jenny Garing

There’s a nashi tree on our property that bears an extraordinary amount of fruit every year, even though we do nothing to it. Despite the wet summer – or maybe because of it – the tree has grown especially well in recent months, giving us a wonderful supply of delicious, versatile fruit.

Although they’re both referred to as Asian pears in New Zealand, nashi (Pyrus pyrifolia) is different from the Chinese pear (Pyrus bretschneideri) – sometimes called ya pear. The ya pear is more the bell shape and smooth texture of the European pear, while nashi are round with a coarse, brownish skin. They are superb eating fruit with crisp, grainy texture and wonderfully juicy, apple-like flavour. I have fond memories of living in Japan and Korea where huge nashi pears were slowly peeled, cored and sliced, and then eaten with a dainty little fork after dinner. It was such a refreshing way to finish a meal. Although the fruit on our tree is nowhere near as big as the ones in Japan, they are just as tasty and refreshing.

Nashi are best eaten slightly chilled and are marvellous in fruit salads, especially Asian-style fruit salads like the Malaysian rojak. For a savoury take, they can be grated and added to coleslaws or shaved vegetable salads. Chef Peter Gordon makes a savoury salsa with kiwifruit and nashi, flavoured with lime and basil to serve with salmon. Like European pears, nashi can complement a good blue or other type of sharp cheese, or can be paired with cooked haloumi and almonds. In Korea, nashi are most commonly used to tenderise meat such as pork, beef ribs, beef cuts for stews, or to marinade stir fry beef.

If you’re lucky enough to have nashi growing on your property, the following three recipes – sweet, savoury and sour – from around the globe are a great way to highlight the fruit’s versatility.

Bulgogi

My Korean friend, So Young, taught me how to make bulgogi, a traditional stir-fried beef dish in Korea. The nashi is necessary for both tenderising and flavouring the meat. When I didn’t have nashi, she refused to make it.

The word bulgogi translates as fire meat due to the process of cooking thin slices of meat on a grill or BBQ. The dish can be prepared in two different ways: grilling the meat by itself and eating in a lettuce or shiso leaf, or cooking the meat with some vegetables to serve with rice as a main meal.

Prep Time: 15 minutes plus 4 hours marinating
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4-6

INGREDIENTS

800g rib eye (or any tender prime beef cut), thinly sliced, 2mm to 3mm thickness
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 spring onions, thinly sliced on the angle
½ carrot peeled and thinly sliced
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp rice bran oil
1 red chilli, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Marinade:
6 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp rice wine (or mirin)
1 nashi, chopped
½ onion, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
½ tsp ground black pepper

METHOD

Blend the marinade ingredients in a mixer or food processor until smooth.

Place the thinly sliced meat in a mixing bowl and pour the marinade over it.

Gently massage the marinade into the meat with your hands. Add the sesame oil into the mixture.

Cover the bowl with beeswax wrap and marinate the meat for at least 4 hours in the fridge. (If you have more time, you can also marinate it overnight to deepen the flavour.)

Preheat a frying pan/bbq grill on medium-high heat. Pour in the rice bran oil. Add the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes, then add the meat and cook on medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, until the meat is done.

Toss in the sesame seeds and stir them in quickly. Serve the bulgogi with steamed rice.

Nashi Ginger Tart

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
2 nashi, sliced thinly
3 tbsp grated ginger
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp olive oil

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 200°C. In a bowl, use a fork to whisk together the cinnamon, vanilla extract, two tablespoons of sugar, grated ginger and olive oil.

Lay out the pastry on a baking tray and fold up the edges to form a barrier. Spread half the ginger mix over the pastry base. Lay the slices of nashi on top in rows with the slices overlapping tightly. Spread the rest of the ginger mix on top of the nashi and then sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is cooked and the nashi is soft. Serve with cream.

Ottoman Sherbet

This is a homemade version of the kind of sherbet that I used to buy in the streets of Turkey. It’s a fermented, gut-friendly drink that’s also very hydrating. Usually made with fruits such as plums, cherries and some tamarind, my version with nashi is flavourful but not too intense.

Prep Time: 15 minutes plus 10 days fermenting
Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS

1 red apple
1 granny smith (or sour green) apple
2 nashi
100g green grapes
200g firm red plums
50g red grapes
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
220g sugar
5 chickpeas

METHOD

Quarter the apples and nashi without removing the skins or seeds. Squash all the fruit together and mix with the spices in a bowl.

Put the mixed fruit into a two-litre jug with a sealable lid, adding the sugar. Wrap the chickpeas in muslin (cheesecloth) and add to the jug. Fill the jug with filtered water up to the brim. Seal tightly and then store in a cool spot for 10 days before serving. To get fermentation started, you need to keep the chickpeas in the water for at least five days. The liquid will continue to ferment gently once the chickpeas are removed, and you can keep refreshing the drink with water for three months. If it starts to taste like vinegar, use it as vinegar and make another batch.

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