Authentic Food

Prompted by a recent conversation with and Indian friend, I've been trying to find out what an authentic breyani is - a journey that will include other popular dishes shortly. The breyani "recipe" I use, and I use the term "recipe" very loosely, I learned from my mother who grew up in Durban. I therefore assumed that it was a typical Indian breyani. This notion was challenged by my Indian friend who questioned the incorporation of boiled eggs, something she had never seen before. Whilst this has not been an exhaustive or scientific study at all, I have managed to find lots of literature on the subject. It seems that the authentic Indian breyani contains only the very basic ingredients I, and most people I know, would use. This breyani has not a lentil, boiled egg or potato in sight, embellishments clearly added due to circumstances. I can imagine a vegetarian substituting the meat with lentils or boiled eggs and some unknowing individual picking this up and adding to the existing meat dish. Anyhow, I attempted the "authentic" Indian breyani today. Lamb marinated in yoghurt, garlic, ginger, chillies, coriander (dhania), chilli powder, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, oil and lemon juice (very similar to my usual), then covered with fried onions and par cooked basmati rice. The final ingredient is warmed milk infused with saffron and poured over the top of the dish which is then sealed and baked/steamed in the oven for around 45 minutes. Simple, right. Certainly less labour intensive than what I would usually do. The result? A fragrant, tasty and absolutely moreish plate of food! Please sir, can I have some more!