2 lb Lamb; preferably bone in
4 sm Potatoes (try using a waxy
- potato variety)
1 1/2 ts Cumin seeds
6 Green cardamom
1 Black cardamom; skip you do
- not have
4 Cloves; up to 5
1 Cinnamon stick (1")
1 Mace blade
3 Whole dried red chillies;
- up to 4, preferably
- kashmiri, adjust to taste
3 tb Plain; unsweetened full fat
- yogurt; not Greek
1/4 ts Ground nutmeg
4 tb Mustard, olive, or canola
- oil; up to 5 tb, divided
1 c Onions; thinly sliced
1 lg Bay leaf
6 cl Garlic; chopped
1 tb Fresh ginger; chopped
1 lg Tomato (1/3 c);
- finely chopped
1/2 ts Red chilli powder;
- adjust to taste
2 ts Coriander powder
1/8 ts Turmeric powder
Salt; to taste
Water; warm, as required
Cilantro; chopped,
- for garnish
Clean and pat dry the lamb pieces. Sprinkle them with 1/4 ts or so of
salt and set aside.
Meanwhile, peel and cut the potatoes into halves. Using a mortar and
pestle, very coarsely break the whole spices (cumin, cardamom, cloves,
cinnamon & mace). Set aside. Remove the stems from the dried green
chillies and de-seed them if you want. Whisk together nutmeg and
yogurt. Set aside.
Heat the 2 tb mustard oil in a heavy bottomed pot/Dutch oven (I use
my 3 qt) to a smoking point on medium heat. If using mustard oil, you
need to heat it up until the point it starts slightly smoking to
ensure the raw smell is gone. Layer the lamb pieces in a single
layer. Sear for 2 to 3 minutes on each side to get a light brown
color. Remove on a plate and let sit. Add remaining 2 tb oil to the
pot and let heat up again to do away the raw smell. Once the oil is
heated, reduce the heat to low and wait to lower the temperature a
bit. Add the sliced onions and bay leaf. On medium low heat, fry the
onions until they are golden brown. Add the coarse ground whole
spices to the oil next and cook for a minute or so until you smell a
nice aroma. Do not let the spices burn. Next add the ginger & garlic
and saute for another minute or so. Add the dry red chillies next.
Stir around.
Next, add the lamb pieces back to the pot, bump up the heat to high
and stir around so as to coat the meat. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes with
continuous stirring until you see that the lamb pieces are starting
to turn dark brown on the edges. At this point, reduce heat to very
low, wait for 3 to 4 minutes and add the whisked yogurt to the pot.
Also add the coriander, red chili & turmeric powder. Do not stir
immediately else the yogurt will curdle. Allow 1 to 2 minutes before
combining everything together. You will see a lot of water right now
since the lamb also starts releasing its juices, but that's fine.
Cook on open flame for 6 to 8 minutes and then add the tomatoes. Stir
around to combine and cover the pot. Let cook on stove for 30 to 35
minutes on low heat periodically checking to make sure the liquid in
the pot doesn't dissipate and adding warm water when needed.
Meanwhile, warm your oven to 275?F. After 30 to 35 minutes of stove
top cooking, check that there is enough liquid in the pot, I add
about a cup of water (do not add too much water at a time) and
transfer the pot with lid to the oven.
Let slow cook for about 2-1/2 to 3 hours (this time will depend on
how big or small your stewing lamb pieces are) inside the oven until
the lamb is 95% cooked. You can check once or twice in between to see
that the stew is not drying out.
Open the lid, you will see a deep reddish colored gravy, stir and add
potatoes, add more water depending on the consistency required and
check the salt. Cover the lid and again let cook for 30 to 45 minutes
or until the potatoes are fork tender and the meat is very tender,
just about to fall apart from the bones and the flavor & color of the
gravy is intense.
Let sit for 1 to 2 hours before serving.Garnish with chopped cilantro
& serve with warm rotis (flatbreads) and salad.
continued in part 2
MMMMM
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