An Eid table that feels generous without wearing out the cook: one rice dish, one curry, something from the grill and something cool. Here's how to plan it, how much to order, and when to do what.
A menu that works
- A rice dish: Kabuli pulao, lamb biryani or yakhni pulao.
- A curry: lamb karahi or mutton curry. Both are better made a few hours ahead.
- From the grill or pan: masala lamb chops, seekh kebabs or shami kebabs.
- Something cool: raita, salad, sliced onion with lemon, and chutney.
- A roast, for something different: slow-roast lamb shoulder looks spectacular and takes almost no work.
How much to order
When you serve several meat dishes, people take a little of each, so you need less of every dish. Here's a menu for 20 adults:
| Dish | Ask for |
|---|---|
| Kabuli pulao | 3.5kg lamb shoulder or shank, bone-in pulao pieces, and 2kg basmati |
| Lamb karahi | 4kg lamb shoulder, karahi cut |
| Seekh kebabs | 2kg lamb mince, about 25 kebabs |
That's about 9.5kg of lamb: roughly a half lamb, which is usually the best value. For other numbers, use the crowd calculator.
Splitting a whole lamb
- Shoulders: karahi pieces, or pulao and biryani pieces
- Legs: curry pieces, or kept whole for roasting
- Chops and ribs: the grill
- Neck and shanks: shorwa, or into the pulao for extra flavour
- Trimmings: minced fresh for seekh kebabs
Tell us the dishes and we'll suggest the cuts.
The countdown
- A week before: settle the menu and numbers, and order your meat. The days before Eid are busy at every butcher's, so order early.
- Three days before: buy the rice, spices, dried fruit and dry goods.
- The day before: collect the meat and keep it in the fridge. Marinate the chops, mix the kebabs, fry onions for the rice, and soak the rice overnight if it's sella.
- Eid morning: cook the curry first; it improves as it sits. Start the rice dish about 2 hours before you eat.
- Just before serving: grill or fry the chops and kebabs so they're hot and crisp.
Big-batch safety
- Cook in more than one pot rather than one huge one.
- Keep raw meat at the bottom of the fridge, covered, until you need it.
- Cool leftovers fast in shallow containers and get them into the fridge within 1 to 2 hours. Rice within an hour.
Eid Mubarak from all of us at Madina Store.