Heart-warming Lamb Keema Biryani

1. Drizzle a frying pan with half the olive oil and place half of the sliced onion in the pan on a medium heat until golden brown and set aside.
2. Put the rest of the sliced onion, ginger, garlic and tomato in a blender and make a smooth puree.
3. Soak the basmati rice in cold water for 20-25 minutes and drain.
4. Meanwhile, add the lamb mince to the frying pan along with the rest of the olive oil and cook for roughly 10 minutes. 
5. Add half a cup water to the mince and place a lid on top for roughly 15-20 minutes. After 20 minutes, if there's no liquid, you're good to go, otherwise drain the liquid and set aside.
6. Then, add the soaked drained rice to a separate frying pan and the biryani masala powder and cook for roughly 10 minutes or until the oil floats to the surface.
7. Put about 12 cups of water to boil in a large heavy duty pot on the stovetop. Add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, black cardamoms, cloves, star anises and salt and allow to come to the boil. Then add the rice and cook until al dente for roughly 15 - 20 minutes. Then drain the rice in a colander over the kitchen sink and remove the whole spices.
8. Return one-third of the rice to the pot and spread it on the bottom. Spread half the mince on top of the rice, then follow with another layer of rice, more mince and top with a final layer of rice.
9. Pour the onions you prepared in step one, along with a drizzle of olive oil and puree prepared in step 2, on top of the rice. If using the optional ingredients, put them on top of the rice at this stage.
10. Sprinkle half a cup of warm water or milk on top of the rice and cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Put the pot on gentle heat on the stovetop and let the rice and lamb mince cook undisturbed for roughly 12 minutes.
11. Turn off the heat and let the pot rest on the hob for 20-30 minutes.
12. Open the pot, fluff the rice with a fork taking care to turn the bottom layers too. Serve hot with tzatziki.

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