These days my cooking is dependant on my mood rather than the fact that I must make something as there is nothing to eat at home! The entire summer we have been surviving mostly on salads, thankfully none of the recipes included Spinach. By the way Spinach is safe to eat again (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=53063). Of course I would have occasional spurts of enthusiasm. Nevertheless, those were few and far in between.
Yesterday was one of those rare moments of culinary inspiration. After two months of strict vegetarianism, I was craving meat. I got some lamb shank and decided to cook it the Moghlai way but improvise it a little to give my own personal touch. I also made kadhai chicken and paneer with peas. I made the garam masala myself at home (I don't like the readymade masalas). I am sharing the lamb recipe with you.
Yesterday was one of those rare moments of culinary inspiration. After two months of strict vegetarianism, I was craving meat. I got some lamb shank and decided to cook it the Moghlai way but improvise it a little to give my own personal touch. I also made kadhai chicken and paneer with peas. I made the garam masala myself at home (I don't like the readymade masalas). I am sharing the lamb recipe with you.
Lamb with Gravy
Garam Masala:
2 tsp of black pepper
2 tsp of Cinnamon
1 tsp of Cloves
1 ½ tsp of Brown Cardamom (4-5)
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp Bay leaves (crushed)
Mix the above ingredients, roast them lightly with a drop of oil, and after they cool, grind to make a fine powder.
Lamb Marinade:
2 lbs Lamb diced in cubes
3-4 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tsp red chilli powder (depending on your taste and tolerance to spice)
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp of the above garam masala
Juice of one lemon
Salt to taste
Mix them and leave refrigerated for at least an hour. Normally I pressure-cook the meat (two whistles) but this time I used the soup-pot. Soup-pot is ideal as you can cook on low heat with very little oil and the flavors blend in beautifully.
Ingredients for the gravy:
3-4 tsp Oil
One pinch of asafetida (an amazing digestive)
5-6 medium-sized red onions, ground to a paste.
1-inch ginger & 5-6 garlic cloves: Either Julienne or grind into a paste in the grinder.
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp mint chutney
1-cup low fat yogurt
5-6 almonds, ground to a paste
Mix the mint chutney, yogurt and the almond paste.
½ cup raisin & a pinch of saffron.
Preparation:
Heat the oil in a pot and add a pinch of asafoetida. Add the onions and sauté them until it becomes translucent. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté very well until it becomes brown in color. Add one tsp of red chilli powder, 2 tsp of garam masala and keep on sautéing. Add the yogurt, chutney and almond mixture and mix it well. Add salt to taste. Then add marinated lamb and raisins.
If you have already pressure-cooked the lamb (half-cooked with two cooker whistles) then it will take around forty minutes to cook the entire dish.
If you will be using a soup-pot then, put it on medium-high for about half hour to forty-five minutes and then reduce the heat. I have an electric stove therefore it took around an hour and a half to cook the meat. The meat cooks really well without tenderizer and also requires very little oil. Garnish with a little saffron and fresh cilantro leaves. This goes very well with Basmati rice or roti. You could have tomato and onion salad to the side. Bon Appetit!
2 tsp red chilli powder (depending on your taste and tolerance to spice)
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp of the above garam masala
Juice of one lemon
Salt to taste
Mix them and leave refrigerated for at least an hour. Normally I pressure-cook the meat (two whistles) but this time I used the soup-pot. Soup-pot is ideal as you can cook on low heat with very little oil and the flavors blend in beautifully.
Ingredients for the gravy:
3-4 tsp Oil
One pinch of asafetida (an amazing digestive)
5-6 medium-sized red onions, ground to a paste.
1-inch ginger & 5-6 garlic cloves: Either Julienne or grind into a paste in the grinder.
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp mint chutney
1-cup low fat yogurt
5-6 almonds, ground to a paste
Mix the mint chutney, yogurt and the almond paste.
½ cup raisin & a pinch of saffron.
Preparation:
Heat the oil in a pot and add a pinch of asafoetida. Add the onions and sauté them until it becomes translucent. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté very well until it becomes brown in color. Add one tsp of red chilli powder, 2 tsp of garam masala and keep on sautéing. Add the yogurt, chutney and almond mixture and mix it well. Add salt to taste. Then add marinated lamb and raisins.
If you have already pressure-cooked the lamb (half-cooked with two cooker whistles) then it will take around forty minutes to cook the entire dish.
If you will be using a soup-pot then, put it on medium-high for about half hour to forty-five minutes and then reduce the heat. I have an electric stove therefore it took around an hour and a half to cook the meat. The meat cooks really well without tenderizer and also requires very little oil. Garnish with a little saffron and fresh cilantro leaves. This goes very well with Basmati rice or roti. You could have tomato and onion salad to the side. Bon Appetit!
One of my American friends who is an excellent cook and with whom I swap recipes all the time, suggested that next time I should use a crock-pot. I was thinking to myself that it would make a nice Birbal ki Khichadi....he he he.
6 comments:
As a foodie, those dishes made my mouth water. I hope to try them at some point soon. :)
On that e-mail etiquette thing, my wife is a bit like you. She has told me her password ( I have told her I don't want to know and I don't recall it either). I think we need our personal spaces and so neither of us would open the other's e-mail or peer over the shoulder. Just an opinion btw :)
BTW you may have found a regular reader. :) Later.
Thanks Sanjay,
I regularly read your blog too! The lamb recipe is really easy and I am sure you will enjoy making it.
Sanjay just like you, my husband and I too feel that we need our personal space. However it is kinda funny that we don't follow that with emails! I am guilty of reading his emails as well...lol.
Sai.. If you read my blog. Pl do comment don't just lurk. :)
Sanjay:
It's not lurking but I don't want to comment just for the heck of it. A lot of people leave really nice comments and I don't feeling like adding if I don't have anything worthwhile to say. Henceforth I will definitely acknowledge.
Post a Comment