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Lamb Biryani
Tejal Rao
1653 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,653
4 1/2 hours, plus overnight marinating
Updated April 29, 2024
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Prepare the dough: In a large bowl combine the butter and ghee and mix well with a spatula. In a separate bowl, combine the coarse and fine semolina, the sugar and mahlab and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter-ghee mixture. Use your hands to massage the ingredients together, rubbing it between your fingers without kneading or over-working the dough. Add ¼ cup orange blossom water and thoroughly mix with your hands again. Cover and set aside to rest for at least two hours and up to 10 hours at room temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare the nut fillings: In a bowl, thoroughly mix the pistachios, sugar and orange blossom water; set aside. In a separate bowl thoroughly mix the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and orange blossom water; set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix the yeast with 2 tablespoons warm water until it dissolves. Add it to the dough and mix using your hands (but, again, don’t knead). If the dough seems too dry to form into a ball, add cold milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. The dough shouldn’t be wet, just moist enough to stick together when forming the cookies.
Take a chunk of dough and roll it into a ball the size of a golf ball. Holding the dough ball in one hand, take the index finger of your other hand to indent the center and form a hollow area by continuing to press down while turning the ball with your other hand. Spoon one of the nut fillings into the hole and close it back up, pinching the dough together over the filling. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
In the Middle East, ma’amoul cookies have beautiful intricate designs after being pressed into special molds. You can find molds online or at a Middle Eastern supermarket. Otherwise you could use a muffin tin to shape the cookies. Press the stuffed dough ball into an oiled mold and then gently smack the mold onto your hand to get the cookie out. Arrange the molded cookies on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown on the bottom, about 14 minutes.
Dust the cookies with a layer of powdered sugar as soon as they come out of the oven (the sugar will melt into the dough), then dust again once cooled. Serve with a cup of tea or Turkish coffee.
I grew up in a household where ma'amoul was a holiday treat. Then, we used quick cream of wheat, clarified butter, and milk. I've made Ottolenghi's wonderful version and suspect these will be similar. Yes, you can use clarified butter instead of ghee and probably omit the yeast (never seen it used). The trick is getting the cookie dough so that it's wet enough to allow it to be molded but not too wet. Several tries should get it right.
I've been trying to make these since I read that article by Naomi Shahib Nye, with no luck so far.
I hope this recipe works out better for me!
Should I buy ghee in the can, or should I just make clarified butter? Any other hints?
Made with date paste Yankee show Aissa
What recipe would you recommend for date filling? Fresh dates preferred over date paste, please. Thank you and “Eid sa’id” (Happy Eid).
I've been trying to make these since I read that article by Naomi Shahib Nye, with no luck so far.
I hope this recipe works out better for me!
Should I buy ghee in the can, or should I just make clarified butter? Any other hints?
I grew up in a household where ma'amoul was a holiday treat. Then, we used quick cream of wheat, clarified butter, and milk. I've made Ottolenghi's wonderful version and suspect these will be similar. Yes, you can use clarified butter instead of ghee and probably omit the yeast (never seen it used). The trick is getting the cookie dough so that it's wet enough to allow it to be molded but not too wet. Several tries should get it right.
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