isithalal.food · Recipes

Akhni fulab lamb pilau

A Bangladeshi Eid pilau of Halal lamb slow-cooked with ginger, garlic and whole spices, then steamed with basmati rice fried in ghee, onions and green chillies.

Bangladeshi · Main · Moderate · Serves 8 to 10 · 220 min

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

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Why Halal checks matter here

Pilau is lamb and rice, so it is only Halal with Halal-slaughtered lamb; the ghee should be plain dairy ghee, as vegetable ghee and flavoured blends need their own label check.

Halal-critical ingredients

• The lamb: Lamb is only Halal when the animal is slaughtered to the standard you follow, and certifiers differ on stunning and machine slaughter. Buy lamb from a Halal butcher or in a pack certified to your standard. When eating pilau or biryani out, ask which meat it is and where it comes from. See Lamb and Biryani.
• Ghee: Plain ghee is clarified butter and is Halal; vegetable ghee, vanaspati and flavoured ghee are different products. Use single-ingredient dairy ghee, or read the label of any blend. See Ghee.

Ingredients

Lamb

• 1 kg diced Halal lamb (shoulder or leg)
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 50 g ginger, crushed or grated
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 4 cardamom pods
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 heaped tsp mild curry powder
• 1½ heaped tsp ground coriander
• 1½ heaped tsp ground cumin (jeera)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 4 tbsp plain dairy ghee

Pilau

• 700 g basmati rice
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp plain dairy ghee, plus extra to serve (optional)
• 100 g ginger, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 4 cardamom pods
• 5 cloves
• 20–25 whole black peppercorns
• 10 green chillies
• 1 tsp, plus more for the water salt
• about 1 litre boiling water

Method

1. Soak the rice. Wash the rice under running cold water until it runs clear, then cover with cold water and leave to soak.
2. Cook the lamb. Put the Halal lamb in a pressure cooker or a large pan with the onions, garlic, ginger, bay, cinnamon, cardamom and 2 tsp salt and mix well. In a pressure cooker, cook for 20 to 25 minutes on low once at pressure, with no added water. In a pan, cook over a low heat for 1 to 1½ hours, adding a splash of water before and during cooking if needed.
3. Fry the ginger and onions. Heat the vegetable oil and 4 tbsp ghee in another large pan. Brown the ginger matchsticks over a medium-high heat, stirring, for 10 minutes, then add the onions and fry until golden.
4. Spice the lamb. Check the lamb: fat bubbling around the edge of the pan means it has cooked enough. Put it on the hob in a large pan, add the curry powder, coriander, cumin, turmeric and 4 tbsp ghee, mix, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes more, stirring now and then.
5. Fry the rice. Add the whole spices to the golden onions and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the drained rice and 1 tsp salt and fry over a medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring so it doesn't stick. Add the whole green chillies.
6. Combine. When the lamb is tender, add it to the rice and fry together for several minutes over a medium heat, stirring, then turn the heat to high. Swirl some boiling water in the lamb pan to lift the fat and flavour and add it to the pilau; it should sizzle as it hits the pan.
7. Add the water. Keeping the heat high, add enough boiling water to just cover the rice and meat, about 1 litre, stirring so it reaches the bottom. Season the water; it should taste salty. Cover and boil on high for 5 minutes, then simmer on medium for 5 to 7 minutes, until the water is absorbed.
8. Steam. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan with foil and then the lid, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until the rice is soft when pressed between your fingers. Dot with extra ghee if you like, cover to melt it, and serve.

Allergens

milk (ghee)

How this recipe was researched

Method from BBC Good Food's 'Akhni fulab (lamb pilau)' by Afia Begom of Afelia's Kitchen (serves 8 to 10: 1 kg diced lamb cooked with onions, garlic, ginger, bay, cinnamon, cardamom and salt, in a pressure cooker for 20 to 25 minutes or a pan for 1 to 1½ hours, then with curry powder, coriander, cumin, turmeric and 4 tbsp ghee for 15 to 20 minutes more; 700 g soaked basmati fried with ginger, onions and whole spices in oil and 4 tbsp ghee, then with the lamb, about 1 litre boiling water and green chillies; boiled 5 minutes, simmered 5 to 7, then steamed under foil 12 to 15 minutes). The source calls it a dish for special occasions such as Eid. We specified Halal lamb and plain dairy ghee. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Photograph from our ingredient library: a spiced rice dish, not the finished dish from this recipe.