Overnight preparation time
1 to 2
hours cooking time
Serves 6
Tender chunks of gently spiced beef in a fluffy saffron
rice. If you like a bit more heat, don’t worry about deseeding both the
chillies.
Ingredients
-
100ml/3½oz full-fat milk
-
1 heaped tsp saffron strands
-
1kg/2lbs 2oz braising steak, cut into bite-sized
chunks
-
4 onions,
peeled
-
4 garlic cloves, peeled
-
25g/1oz fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
-
2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
-
5 cloves
-
2 tsp cumin
seeds
-
2 tsp coriander seeds
-
¼ cinnamon
stick
-
12 cardamom
pods
-
2½ tsp sea
salt flakes, plus extra to season
-
½ whole nutmeg,
finely grated
-
135ml/4¾fl oz sunflower oil
-
200ml/7fl oz natural yoghurt
-
2 bay leaves
-
2 tsp caster
sugar
-
325g/11½oz basmati rice
-
4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
-
50g/2oz butter
- To serve
-
Preparation method
-
Pour the milk into a small saucepan, add the saffron threads and heat gently
for two minutes without boiling. Remove from the heat and set aside for 2-3
hours, preferably overnight.
-
Trim the beef of any hard fat and cut into bite-sized pieces. Heat two
tablespoons of oil in the frying pan. Season the beef with salt and freshly
ground black pepper and fry in 2-3 batches over a medium-high heat until browned
on all sides. Transfer to a large, lidded saucepan.
-
While the beef is frying, roughly chop two of the onions and put in a food
processor with the garlic, ginger and chillies. Add 50ml/2fl oz cold water and
blend to a smooth paste.
-
Put the cloves, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, 1½ teaspoons salt and seeds from
the cardamom pods into a pestle and mortar. Grind until a fine powder. Grate the
nutmeg into the mixture and tip into the onion paste. Add plenty of freshly
ground black pepper. Mix until all the ingredients are combined.
-
Add a further three tablspoons of oil into the same frying pan that was used
to cook the beef and fry the spiced onion paste over a medium heat for around 10
minutes until lightly browned, stirring often. Place the mixture into the pan
with the beef. Stir in the yoghurt, 450ml/16fl oz water and bay leaves. Place
the pan over a low heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid and
simmer gently for 1½ hours or until the beef is tender, stirring occasionally.
-
Remove the lid from the pan and stir in the sugar. Increase the heat and
simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, or until reduced and thick. Add a little more
salt and pepper to taste.
-
Toast the almonds in a non-stick frying pan and cook over a medium heat for
4-6 minutes. Stir the sultanas into the almonds and immediately tip into a
heatproof bowl. Set aside to cool.
-
Cut the remaining two onions in half and slice thinly. Pour two tablespoons
of oil into a frying pan and fry the onions for 6-8 minutes over a fairly high
heat until softened and golden-brown, stirring frequently. Set aside.
-
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
-
Half-fill a large pan with water, add one teaspoon of salt and bring to the
boil. Put the rice in a sieve and rinse under plenty of cold water. Stir the
rice into the hot water and return to the boil. Cook for five minutes and drain
well. Add the coriander and stir until well combined.
-
Transfer half the meat and sauce into a large, ovenproof dish. Spoon over
half of the part-cooked rice and drizzle with half the soaked saffron threads
and milk. Top with half the fried onions. Repeat the layers once more. Dot with
the butter. Cover the dish with two layers of tightly fitting foil and bake for
30 minutes.
-
Hard-boil the eggs for nine minutes until firm and drain in a sieve under
running water until cool enough to handle. Peel the eggs and cut into quarters.
-
Remove the dish from the oven and discard the foil. Use a fork to lightly
fluff the rice. Garnish with the freshly boiled eggs, scatter with toasted
almonds and sultanas. Add a few fresh coriander leaves and
serve.