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Isfahani beryani has nothing to do with Indian biryani. It is minced lamb, traditionally mixed with lung, cooked with onion, cinnamon and saffron, then pressed into a small round pan and flipped out onto a piece of flatbread.
In Isfahan it is street food and a sit-down lunch at the same time. It comes with fresh basil, walnuts, raw onion and a bowl of doogh.
At a glance: serves four. About an hour and a half. Medium.
Ingredients
- 600g lamb neck or shoulder, cut into pieces (or 500g lamb and 100g lamb lung, as in Isfahan)
- 2 onions, quartered
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- A pinch of saffron, bloomed in 2 tbsp hot water
- 2 tbsp butter or lamb fat
- 4 pieces sangak or lavash bread
- Fresh basil, walnuts and raw onion, to serve
- Salt and black pepper
Method
- Simmer the meat with the onions, turmeric, salt and pepper in a little water for about an hour until very tender. Drain, keeping the cooking liquid.
- Mince the meat and onions finely in a mincer or food processor.
- Melt the butter in a small frying pan, add a quarter of the mince, sprinkle with cinnamon and saffron and press flat. Cook for a few minutes until the base browns.
- Turn it out onto a piece of bread and spoon over a little of the hot cooking liquid. Repeat with the rest.
The pan. Isfahani cooks use a small long-handled ladle-pan called a kamche. A small frying pan works fine.
Lung is optional. It gives the traditional texture but beryani is still excellent made with lamb alone.
Where to buy the ingredients. Outside Iran, you can order saffron and turmeric online.
Serve with basil, walnuts, raw onion and doogh. Beryani is so closely linked with Isfahan that the city’s best-known beryani houses are a tourist sight in their own right.
