This is a sponsored post on behalf of The Spice House. The recipe and all opinions are our own.

Our favorite meal when we visited India was Lamb Biryani. It isn’t a particularly difficult dish to create, but it does take a bit of time and preparation. One of the reasons that it is so flavorful is that it uses a variety of spices, some of which can be difficult to find. We used several spices from The Spice House and created our own take on Lamb Biryani. It turned out to be quite delicious and very fragrant. Depending on how spicy you like your food, you can control some of the heat by changing the amount of cayenne pepper or type of green chili that you use. We served ours over Basmati rice, but regular rice would be just as good.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb Lamb Shoulder Chops – cut into 1 inch cubes
• 8 Whole Cloves
• 4 Black Cardamom Pods
• 4 Cinnamon Sticks
• 1 Large White Onion – sliced thinly
• 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
• 1 tbsp Minced Ginger
• 3 tbsp Fresh Mint Leaves – chopped
• 3 Tomatoes – chopped
• 3 Serrano Peppers – chopped (and deseeded for less heat)
• 2 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tbsp Harissa Spread
• 4 tbsp Plain Yogurt
• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice – fresh squeezed
• 1/2 tsp Saffron
• 2 tbsp Warm Milk
• 1 cup Basmati Rice – cooked to package directions
• 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
• Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium heat and, once the oil is heated, add the cloves, cardamom pods, and cinnamon sticks for about 1 minute until they are fragrant. Add the onion and cook until lightly brown stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Stir in the mint and cook for 1 minute more. Add the lamb to the onion and spice mixture and cook until the meat begins to brown on all sides, about 15 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, serrano peppers, and cayenne pepper and cook for about 10 minutes. Finally, stir in the yogurt, milk, saffron, harissa spread, and lemon juice and cook for about 15 minutes. Serve over the rice.