Ground Lamb Pulao
Updated May 18, 2021
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups basmati rice
- 1½pounds ground lamb or beef
- 1teaspoon ghee, unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
- 4garlic cloves, peeled and grated
- 2tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 1½teaspoons garam masala
- ½teaspoon red chile powder
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- 2teaspoons kosher salt
- 3tablespoons lime juice
- ½teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1bunch scallions (about 6), trimmed and thinly sliced
- ¼cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
853 calories; 42 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 80 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 36 grams protein; 737 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Check the rice and discard any debris. Place the rice in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse under running water until the water runs clear. Place the rice in a bowl, cover with water by 1 inch, and soak for 30 minutes.
- Step 2
As the rice soaks, cook the lamb: Place a medium saucepan with a heavy lid or a Dutch oven over medium heat. When the saucepan is hot, break the lamb into chunks, and cook until the fat renders, about 2 minutes. Drain most of the fat, leaving behind 1 to 2 tablespoons, and continue to cook the lamb until it browns, another 2 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the ghee and heat over medium until it melts, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute.
- Step 4
Add the garam masala, chile powder, black pepper and 1 teaspoon salt and sauté until the spices are fragrant, 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon lime juice and stir until the flavors come together, about 1 minute.
- Step 5
Transfer the lamb mixture to a large bowl and keep warm. (To do so, you could transfer it to a 250-degree oven.) Clean the saucepan and wipe dry.
- Step 6
Drain the soaked rice. Add to the same saucepan and cover with water by 1 inch. Stir in 1 tablespoon lime juice, the turmeric and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then cover, and reduce heat to simmer until the rice absorbs all the water, about 10 minutes. (Do not stir the rice as it cooks, or the grains might break.) Remove the saucepan from heat, and let sit, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
- Step 7
Stir the rice into the cooked lamb mixture, then drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice. Fold the scallions and mint into the rice, and serve immediately.
Private Notes
Comments
Barb, your intuition's right. Many variants of pulao (or biryani) call for browning 1-2 chopped onions, though separately. (You can use the rendered fat from Step 2, which has a lot of flavor). Combine half the onion with the rice at the start of Step 6, half after it's cooked at the end of Step 7. The Middle Eastern lentil-and-rice dish mujaddara also uses browned onions - liberally - this way to elevate what would otherwise be an indifferent dish.
Absolutely delicious overall. Two comments I’d add are: 1) there is just no need for presoaking the rice that I can discern. Basmati rice is usually only a 15 minute simmer using the same exact procedure. 2) the teaspoon of salt at the rice stage was a bit slim. The rice definitely was under seasoned. Loved this and will definitely make again!
Used this as a base to have some fun! -added a yellow onion after melting ghee into the lamb, along with roasted salted peanuts & RAISINS. The raisins made the dish & I will add even more next time. Also, I made the basmati in a rice cooker after rinsing it until water ran clear but not soaking. In the rice cooker, I added some cardamom pods, cumin seeds, ghee and salt along with the turmeric and lime juice. Then mixed rice into the lamb & followed the rest of recipe. Amazing!
I didn’t soak the rice and I cooked it in some chicken stock for flavor. Super tasty and only took 45 minutes to make. Plus seal of approval from the Indian husband.
This was very enjoyable, though I made a few modifications. I only had a 1-lb package of ground lamb so I decreased the rice to 1.5 cups, which was still overly generous. I added a chopped onion along with the garlic and ginger. For red chile powder, I subbed half a tsp of cayenne, for just the right level of tingly spice. No limes, so I used lemon juice. And I added cumin seeds to the rice. At the end, I threw in about 3/4 c. of green peas. Very tasty though now I have a lot of dishes to wash!
Made as written but used a rice cooker. It was DELICIOUS!!! I’m tempted to open a restaurant in my rural ag town based on this rice dish! To use the rice cooker, add the rinsed rice to the pot along with the necessary water to cook the rice, lime juice, turmeric and salt. When it dings, fry up the rest of the ingredients. Dump the contents of the rice cooker into the big fry pan along with the green onions and mint. Stir, and serve! I made a raita of chopped tomato, mustard seed, chiles de arbol, and yogurt. Fry up a 1 tbsp of brown mustard seed and 2 chiles in 1 tbsp flavorless oil until the seed starts to pop. Slam a lid on it, and let cool. Mix with the tomato and yogurt, and salt to taste. A taste sensation!