On the heat. Mild

Ingredients

• 6 lamb shanks
• 700 g basmati, soaked 2 hours
• 3 onions, sliced
• 4 tbsp oil or rendered tail fat
• 1 tbsp ground cumin · 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp cinnamon · ½ tsp cloves
• — THE TOPPING
• 4 carrots, cut in matchsticks
• 150 g raisins or sultanas
• 3 tbsp sugar · 3 tbsp butter
• Slivered almonds and pistachios

Method

1. Brown the shanks in the fat and set aside. Onions in the same pot, browned very dark — almost burnt. That colour is where the pulao's brown comes from.
2. Shanks back in with 2 litres water and the ground spices. Lid on, simmer 2 hours, until tender. Lift the shanks out. Keep and strain the stock.
3. Fry the carrot matchsticks in butter with the sugar for 5 minutes until glazed, add the raisins for 1 minute, set aside.
4. Boil the soaked rice in heavily salted water for 5 minutes only, then drain.
5. Layer in a heavy pot: shanks at the bottom, rice over them, then 500 ml of the hot stock poured through. Pile the carrot and raisin on top.
6. Lid wrapped in a cloth, lowest heat, 45 minutes. Rest 15. Turn out onto a platter, shanks on top, nuts scattered over.

Cook's note. The stock is the seasoning. Cooking the rice in shank stock rather than water is the difference between kabuli pulao and rice with lamb on it.

← Back to The Lamb Book