Golden pulao with braised beef shank

Sear the beef shank on all sides in the ghee, or blast it in a very hot oven with convection on.

Remove the shank, add the sliced ginger and garlic cloves and cook over medium heat until lightly caramelized.

Add the coriander, cumin, cloves and ajwain seeds, then the red chili flakes at the very end, then the salt.

Return the beef and add enough water to cover halfway, around 7.6 cups, and bring to a boil.

Cook covered until fall off the bone: about 5 and a half hours for this whole shank, or 350F for around 4 hours for chuck roast at home.

Let the meat cool completely in its liquid before reheating, which makes it much juicier.

Strain all the spices out and skim off most of the fat, keeping that fat to drizzle over the meat later.

Toast the black cardamom, green cardamom, cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks and black pepper in a pan over medium heat until smoking and very fragrant, then cool and grind in a blender to make the pulao spice.

Julienne the red onion and saute it in the ghee over medium heat until deeply caramelized, for an intense aromatic flavour.

Add the pulao spice and cook 30 seconds, then add the golden raisins, cooked chickpeas and washed basmati rice and mix.

Add the reserved beef stock, bring to a boil, cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Uncover, fluff, and taste for salt.

Stack the rice high on a plate and set the whole shank on top, then chop the beef up.

Plate the pulao, shower it with the chopped beef and finish with cilantro.