Persian-Inspired Lamb & Herb Pilaf

Ingredients

• 600 g lamb shoulder, cut into 3cm chunks
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 700 ml lamb or chicken stock
• salt and black pepper
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 0.5 tsp ground allspice
• 350 g basmati rice, rinsed well
• 50 g dried barberries or cranberries
• 50 g flaked almonds, toasted
• 30g fresh dill, chopped
• 30g fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Warm pitta bread, to serve
• Chopped salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large, deep lidded pan over high heat until it shimmers. Pat the lamb dry — water means steam, and steam means no browning — then season generously with salt and black pepper. Brown in two batches for 3–4 minutes per batch, until each chunk has a deep mahogany crust on at least two sides. Don't crowd the pan; all at once and the lamb sweats instead of searing. Lift out and set aside.
2. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the sliced onion to the lamb fat and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden and starting to catch at the edges — those caught bits are flavour, not failure.
3. Stir in the garlic and cook for just 30 seconds, until fragrant — don't let it go past pale gold or the whole pilaf turns bitter. Add the turmeric, cinnamon, allspice, and cumin and bloom them in the oil for another 30–60 seconds until fragrant and warm-smelling. Raw ground spices taste dusty; bloomed spices taste of themselves.
4. Return the lamb to the pan with any resting juices. Pour over the stock, scraping up the brown stuck bits from the base — that's where the depth lives. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, until the lamb yields easily to a fork.
5. Lift the lamb out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Measure the remaining liquid — you need 600ml. Top up with water if short, or reduce briefly over high heat if over.
6. Add the rinsed rice to the lamb-scented broth and stir gently to settle it in an even layer. Bring to a boil, then drop to the lowest heat, cover tightly, and cook for 15 minutes. Pull off the heat and leave to steam, lid on and undisturbed, for 8 minutes — this is where the grains finish swelling and the base crisps into a faint tahdig.
7. Lift the lid. Taste a grain of rice — adjust salt now, not at the table. Return the lamb pieces to the surface, scatter over the barberries, toasted almonds, dill, and parsley, and season again with salt and black pepper. Taste, season, taste again.
8. Bring the pan to the table. Drizzle the tahini in a glossy zigzag across the herb-flecked rice and scatter the torn mint leaves over the lamb just before serving.