Place the cut-up meat in a bowl and pour about half the mala and let it sit for at-least 30 minutes. The idea is to soften the meat, however if you are using soft meat you can leave the mala for less time. The left-over mala will be used to add to the food for more gravy.

On a suitable pot, cook the onion and ginger with enough oil over a medium heat until it browns evenly while stirring constantly to avoid the onion burning from one side.

Add the chopped garlic when the onion is slightly browned. Garlic cooks faster than the onion and ginger that is why we add the garlic later.

Add the curry powder just before the onion is fully golden brown and stir to allow to cook for about 1 minute. Turn off the heat if it’s too hot to avoid the onion from burning.

Add the meat to the pot and stir making sure the onion is fully mixed into the meat, add the salt at this stage too. The heat should be on medium.

Allow to simmer while covered for about 10-15 minutes. Add more mala to give it more liquid to cook in while occasionally stirring to avoid the meat from sticking to the bottom. You can also add water to bulk up the sauce.

Taste and adjust the salt and turn off the heat. The sauce should be thick and rich when ready. If it’s too light (after adding water, cook until it reduces and thickens.

While the meat is cooking, cook the Basmati rice until its ¾ cooked.

To finish, in a separate pot, make layers of lamb and partially cooked biryani rice in alternating sequence, starting and ending with the rice.

Dissolve 1 tbsp of turmeric powder with little water and sprinkle on top of the rice layer. In between the layers and at the top layer, add a generous sprinkle of raisins, nuts and dhania.

Return the pot on the stove to fully cook the rice on low heat (about 4 minutes).

Serve hot with Raita (Yoghurt with Cucumber, Garlic, Salt) and Kachumbari on the side.