Lamb biriani & veg curry (kadai)

Well so far the week is not going the way I planned... Yesterday I was home with my very spotty and irritable 3 year old trying to keep her pre-occupied and happy. Which is harder than going to work I can tell you! But sticking to meal plan for the week and yesterday was lamb biriani and vegetable curry out of one of the books I brought back from my visit to Puna, India (business trip). This morning I made the marinade and tipped the chopped lamb into it then placed it in fridge. I love Indian food, especially the colours of the spices!

I left it there all day, then once kids were in bed I set about making the meal. I really wanted to create a nice meal as both me and Jim have been working long hours and have not really sat down much together. So I chose lamb biriani and to accompany it a vegetable kadai (curry), it took me 1 1/4 hours, and it was pretty non-stop, no resting whilst something simmered! It was a case of constantly mixing or grinding (I ground all the spices in a pestle & mortar). 

Once all cooked, I have to be honest I was so proud of myself! This is my favourite ever dish, and I wanted to create that take away / restaurant experience at home.... And I did it!! My husband and I both had seconds (so nothing for the freezer), and what I loved was in a way it was better... As it just tasted so fresh, and Jim said the same and commented on the fact he preferred it as not as oily.... However I was missing the egg on top haha! (Cheeky sod).

I will do this again, only thing I would do differently is when taking the meat from pan to put in oven dish with the rice, I will ensure I do not put as much of the sauce in.

So in 1 hr 15 minutes (about same time to wait for a take away!), I created a healthier fresh equivalent and stuck to my week plan - yay!

Recipes can be found on...

http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/recipe/Gosht-Biryani-Khazana-of-Indian-Recipes.html

http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/Recipe/Kadai-Vegetables-KhaanaKhazana.html