Lamb Meatball Biryani With Minty Mayo And Pickled Onion

Boil a kettle, then peel and finely chop (or grate) your garlic

Add your lamb mince to a large bowl with half your mint sauce, half the chopped garlic (you'll use the rest the later!) and a generous pinch of salt and pepper

Mix thoroughly until fully combined, divide and roll into 3 meatballs per person (clean hands is the best way!)

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick with a matching lid) with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat

Once hot, add the lamb meatballs and cook for an initial 5-6 min or until starting to brown all over

Once brown, transfer the meatballs to a plate and reserve the pan

Meanwhile, peel and finely dice half your red onion[s]

Slice the remaining red onion

Dissolve your chicken stock mix in 300ml [390ml] [510ml] boiled water

Return the reserved pan to a medium heat

Add the diced onion and a small pinch of salt and cook for 1-2 min or until starting to soften

Once the onion is soft, add your curry powder, ground turmeric and remaining chopped garlic to the pan and cook for 30 secs or until fragrant

Once fragrant, add your chicken stock and basmati rice to the pan and give everything a good mix up

Add the browned meatballs, then bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to very low and cook, covered, for 12-15 min or until the lamb is cooked through (no pink meat!) and the water has absorbed – this is your biryani

While the biryani is cooking, add the sliced onion to a bowl with your white wine vinegar, 1 tsp [1 1/2 tsp] [2 tsp] sugar and a pinch of salt then give everything a good mix up – this is your quick-pickled onion

Combine your mayo and remaining mint sauce in a bowl with 1 tsp [1 1/2 tsp] [2 tsp] cold water – this is your minty mayo

Wash your spinach, then add it to a colander and pour boiled water all over it so that it starts to wilt

Rinse the wilted spinach under cold running water until it's cool

Once cool, squeeze as much water out of the spinach as you can and roughly chop

Once the lamb is cooked through, add the chopped spinach to the biryani and give everything a good mix up – this is your lamb meatball biryani