Pilafs or pulaos, whatever you might refer to them as are the best one-pot meals. You can serve this herbed lamb pilaf for a special occasion or as an everyday meal. I’m borrowing the technique of layering cooked meat with rice, one that you might have come across when making the wonderfully aromatic biryanis. You might also note that I cut out marination; I’ve tried this recipe both ways (marinated and un-marinated) and didn’t find much difference in texture or flavor of the meat, so the recipe here skips marination, and the meat cooks in the spiced yogurt liquid till it is completely tender. If you own a high-pressure cooker, you can cut back your cooking time by cooking the meat separately, but you will still need to reduce the liquid before it can be added to the rice. Cuts of American lamb used for stew are ideal here, but it is much easier to find a boneless leg at most grocery stores. Just buy a little over 2 lbs [900 g], trim off, discard the excess fat, and chop the meat into cubes before cooking them. For more on how to buy lamb and cooking tips, visit the American Lamb Board. The fresh herbs give this pilaf most of its flavor, while adding fresh chilli adds a note of heat with an herb-like edge. If you want to reduce the heat, remove the midrib and discard it along with the seeds, this is where most of the capsaicin (the heat molecule) resides. You can also swap in fresh green chilli with lower heat. You don’t need too many side dishes or condiments with this pilaf. Most often, I serve this with plain yogurt, raita, and an aachar (Indian pickle). Note: if you can’t find American lamb stew meat. Pick up some boneless lamb meat, ask your butcher (you can do this yourself), trim the excess fat, and cut it into 1 in/2.5 cm cubes. You should have about 2 lbs/910 g of lamb meat. Check out the American Lamb Board to learn more about lamb and the different options available. 1 cup/240ml water One small white onion, diced 1 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves and stem 4 garlic cloves, peeled 2 in/5 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled One whole Serrano or Thai chilli 2 Tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice 1 tsp whole black peppercorns 1/2 tsp ground turmeric 1 tsp fine sea salt, divided 1/4 cup 60 ml ghee , olive oil, or grapeseed oil 2 lb/900 g American lamb stew meat cut into 1 inch [2.5 cm] cubes (see Headnotes above) 2 cups/400 g basmati rice 1 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 tsp ground green cardamom 3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves 3 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
