Mutton yakhni pulao

Start with the broth. Use bone-in lamb in large chunky pieces — shoulder, leg or both.

With the stove off, combine the meat with the ginger, garlic, mace, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black cardamom, half the nutmeg, bay leaf, black peppercorns, salt and cinnamon stick; then switch on the stove and stir on medium-high until the water released by the meat dries up and the colour of the meat changes.

Optional: rub 2 to 4 tablespoons of yogurt on the meat and leave it at least an hour or overnight in the fridge, then rinse before cooking to take away the strong smell of lamb.

Add a tablespoon of ghee and stir three to four minutes on medium-high.

Add a small whole onion and five cups of hot water, and pressure cook 30 minutes — 35 in an instant pot — until the meat is about 90 percent cooked.

Grind the spice powder blend — the other half of the nutmeg, mace, cloves, green cardamoms, one star anise, two black cardamoms and black peppercorns — to almost a fine powder, discarding the black cardamom shells and keeping the green ones.

Take the yogurt out of the fridge about 30 minutes before starting and stir it very well to a smooth consistency so the milk solids do not split.

Wash the basmati rice six or seven times until the water runs clear, soak it 30 minutes, then drain it in a colander so the water drips off.

Let the pressure release naturally, open the lid, separate the meat into a bowl and pass the broth through a strainer, discarding the solids.

Measure the broth — a litre, four cups here.

Debone the meat and remove any whole spices stuck to it.

Heat four heaped tablespoons of ghee and two tablespoons of oil and add the finely sliced onions before the oil gets too hot.

Fry the onions on medium-high, then drop to medium once specks of brown show at the edges and stir continuously so they all brown together; when the colour starts to deepen drop to very low or switch the heat off to stop further browning.

Separate out a little of the browned onion for the final dish.

Add a ladleful of the broth to the onions immediately to stop them browning further, then add two dry bay leaves and a small cinnamon stick.

Add the meat, a teaspoon of cumin seeds, then the yogurt and the aromatic spice powder blend, stirring on medium with gentle hands so the meat does not shred.

Add the mint leaves and the chopped coriander, then the broth and a cup of warm milk, then the rice.

Taste the liquid — it should taste salty, or the rice will be bland; another teaspoon of salt went in.

Cover on medium until the rice comes to a boil, and when the grains come to the surface give it a gentle stir.

Add a teaspoon of kewra water.

Add a handful of chopped coriander leaves and three whole green chillies.

Fold a kitchen towel around the lid, fit it on the pot and keep it on the lowest heat possible 15 minutes without opening the lid.

Taste a few grains; if still too chewy sprinkle about four tablespoons of water, cover and give it five more minutes on low.

Switch off and keep it covered on the counter 15 minutes, with nobody lifting the lid, so the residual heat fluffs up the rice.

Fluff the rice with a flat thin spatula, very gently, starting from one side and working from the top gradually down.

Add more chopped coriander and mint leaves and the reserved brown onions, and remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Serve with a cucumber raita.