09/01/2022
Lamb Biryani
Nik Sharma is what I like to call a food-media unicorn. He brings absolutely everything to the table: a sophisticated flavor sensibility, a profound understanding of technique and food science, an artful photographic eye, and the ability to bring it all together in articles and recipes that are both informative and desirable. This biryani recipe is a great example. He used it to dive deep into the science of acids in marinades, proving that not all acids are equal (a brilliant and endlessly applicable observation!), and then to peel back both the literal and metaphorical layers of a grand dish like biryani. I happen to live in a neighborhood where biryani is a dime a dozen, heaps of rice studded with meat and scooped from steam tables into take-out trays. It's delicious, but most of the finer points are lost: The unveiling of the biryani so that the aromas are released at the table, the careful layering of rice and meat, and the delicate aromatics of warm spices, sweet caramelized onions, rich ghee, gamey lamb, tangy yogurt, and floral notes from the killer trio of saffron, rose water, and kewra (pandan) water. It truly is a special occasion dish. —Daniel Gritzer
