Nelene’s biryani

Mix all the marinade ingredients together, add the lamb, cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

In a saucepan over low heat, par-cook the rice together with the 1 cinnamon stick, cardamom and salt, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and cook the eggs until medium boiled, 6 minutes. Transfer them to cold water then peel. Coat the peeled boiled eggs with 2,5ml (½ tsp) egg yellow food colouring. In a non-stick pan over medium heat, fry off the eggs in a little oil until lightly golden in colour. Set aside.

Peel and quarter the potatoes, coat in 2,5ml (½ tsp) egg yellow food colouring and fry in a little oil in a pan over medium heat until golden brown. Set aside. (The potatoes will only be par-cooked.)

In a pan over medium heat, fry the onion until sautéd. Remove a quarter of this, and fry the rest until crisp and medium brown colour.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat up the oil and butter and fry off the fennel, half the cumin, the caraway, cloves and 3 cinnamon sticks, about 5 minutes. Add the fried onions to the meat marinade and cook, without stirring, 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Top the meat with the potatoes, eggs and the par-cooked rice. Sprinkle 2 drops off the remaining egg yellow colouring over the white rice, and mix the top layer of the rice with a fork to coat slightly in the egg yellow colouring. Sprinkle with the remaining cumin seeds and ¼ sauted onions on top of the rice. Cook for a further 10 minutes.

Add 250ml (1 cup) water, and add the sautéd onions before sealing the pot, tightly and place in the preheated oven to steam, 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, switch off the oven and leave the pot in the oven for a final 30 minutes. Serve warm.