A New Favorite Recipe: Lamb Biryani Casserole

Y’all know I love to cook, and my family knows it too. I eagerly offer to host any and all holiday events at my house, and one of my favorites is Easter. I love the spring produce, the colored Easter eggs and beautiful flowers, but most importantly… I love, love, love my recipe for Herb-Roasted Lamb with Potatoes and Carrots. It’s simply fabulous.

This past Easter I kind of went overboard with the lamb, so we had tons left over. Never one to miss out on an opportunity to make something new with a leftover, I blended a few favorite recipes and came up with something to. die. for. Lamb naturally lends itself so well to global flavors, like Latin, Middle Eastern, Asian and Mediterranean flavors, so for my creation I created a Lamb Biryani Casserole.

Shepherd’s Pie meets Lamb Biryani in this one amazing dish.

The recipe should have made enough to serve 8 people, but if I’m to tell the truth: my husband, my dad and I polished it off. It was that good. In fact, my husband said it was the best thing I’d ever made. In this house, that means something!

I’ve been tweaking the recipe ever since, and now have it down pat. Oh, and no waiting for Easter leftovers any more either. With more than 82,000 family-owned sheep operations in nearly every U.S. state, American Lamb is local and available year round.

This is good enough to roast a lamb for just for this recipe. But, if you’re smart – get a roast double what you need for this recipe, eat half with a few sides as one meal, then save the other half for the Lamb Biryani Casserole another night.

Now, do yourself a favor – Pin this recipe. Print this recipe. Bookmark it, or just get cooking. Then, let me know what you think (or invite me over). Don’t invite my husband though. Or it’ll get embarrassing when he starts to lick his plate.

Notes: There are a lot of spices in this, but if you can include them you’ll be so glad you did. If you cannot get rogan josh, substitute a red curry or tikka masala spice blend. I also always have my tin of Indian spices out whenever I make rice now. You will too once you make this dish!

Lamb Biryani Casserole

Ingredients:
5 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 onions, sliced thinly
3 celery stalks, chipped finely
1 cup shredded carrots
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons Rogan Josh (available in specialty spice shops or here)
2 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 pound of “leftover” roasted lamb, chopped (see recipe here)
4 cups of veggie stock
1 lemon, zested
2 cups of basmatti rice (or jasmine)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon tumeric
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper (optional)
4 whole cloves

Directions: In a large Dutch Oven, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and add onions, celery and carrots. Saute until translucent, then add garlic and a splash of water. Cook, stirring occasionally until soft (approximately 8 minutes).

Stir together rogan josh spice, two tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of water until smooth, then add to the pot along with the tomato paste, stock and diced lamb. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer for an hour, with the lid partially covering.

Remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes, until the sauce is reduced. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, in a rice cooker or on the stove top, cook the rice according to package directions, then cool. Divide the rice equally into two bowls. In a small saucepan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil and add in mustard seeds, cumin seeds, tumeric, cloves, cayenne pepper, and lemon zest and stir until fragrant. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, then pull out the cloves. Toss the mixture into half of the cooled rice.

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Coat a large casserole dish with cooking spray, then spoon in the meat mixture. Top with plain rice, and finish with the seasoned rice. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is crunchy and the dish is heated through.