Category: lamb

#Amazing #Lamb

The family has dubbed this dish Amazing Lamb as it follows similar principles to Amazing Maryland Chicken but with Indian spices. You can add potatoes or skip them and adjust chilli to suit your taste. The goodness is in the rendering of the fat and juices and slow cooking of the lamb!

It’s another one pan dish that benefits from long cooking and bread or rice to sop up the divine juices.

Preparation time: 30 mins Cooking time: 70 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 lamb chump or forequarter chops – fat trimmed if desired
  • 4 cloves garlic and equal amount ginger
  • 1.5 teaspoons Sea salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon chilli powder (or to your taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon cummin powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
  • 3 red chillies slit open but not cut (optional)
  • 2 potatoes cut into medium size cubes (optional)
  • 2 tomatoes cut into quarters
  • 1 large onion sliced (not too thick, not too thin)
  • Chopped coriander to garnish
  • 1/2 cup of water

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

2. Pound ginger and garlic together with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Prepare onions, potatoes and tomatoes.

3. Put lamb into a large bowl, add ginger garlic paste, all spices except red chillies, oil ….mix well and let marinate for at least 25 minutes or overnight.

4. Place lamb flat in a flat roasting tin lined with baking paper, add water and cook in oven for 20 minutes.

5. Remove from oven, turn lamb chops over, add onions and potatoes if using, rest of the salt and mix so coated in salt and juices. Put back in oven for 20 minutes

6. Remove from oven, turn lamb chops over, add tomatoes and red chillies if using and mix through.

7. Turn oven up to 220 degrees Celsius. Put lamb mixture back in oven for another 15- 20 minutes. Check to see potatoes are done, if so remove, garnish with coriander.

8. Serve with bread or rice and a crisp lettuce salad.

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Lamb and spinach curry with lime #lambspinach #curry

This is an oldie but a goodie! The lime really makes for a tangy, zesty curry and helps tenderise the lamb. And all the greens in it must be good for you…

Lamb and spinach curry with lime

Here’s the link to my original post.

Lamb and spinach curry with lime

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Shepherd’s Pie with an Indian Twist #spicysheperdspie #indianpie

This is a spiced up version of an Irish lamb mince Shepherd’s Pie that will warm you up and tingle your tatstebuds.

The addition of spiced fried onions to the mash and curry leaves and spices to the mince mixture adds a touch of India that is a great twist to a winter comfort food staple.

I also added a layer of raw baby spinach that kept its texture and is a great way to make sure your green quotient box is ticked, especially with a nice green salad on the side as well. In fact, with leek, carrots, ginger and garlic, onions, potato, spinach and tomato the nutrition value of this dish cannot be denied!!

This quantity serves 2 so use a small-medium size casserole dish

Ingredients

  • 500g lamb mince
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 carrot diced
  • 1/2 cup diced leek
  • 3 cloves garlic and equal amount ginger and 1 red chilli ground to paste
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of tomato passata
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 2 Handfuls of curry leaves
  • 2 cups of baby spinach leaves
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 small piece of cinnamon bark or quill
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 potatoes
  • 1 egg beaten for brushing top of mash
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • Extra curry leaves and coriander for garnish
  • Salt

Method:

1. Prepare vegetables for mince mixture. Chop leeks, onions and carrots. Make ginger, garlic and chilli paste.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy based pot, add cumin seeds to flavour the oil, then add leek, onions and carrot and sweat gently until softened. Add ginger, chilli and garlic paste and mix through.

Soften vegetables the add spices and mince.

3. Add turmeric, cummin and chilli powders to mixture and mix through, then add mince, and stir to break up mince and brown it before adding tomato passata, 1 handful of curry leaves and stock. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes or so until mince is cooked and sauce is reduced.

4. While mince is cooking, peel and cut up potatoes into pieces. Place in a pot of boiling water with salt and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric. Boil potatoes until tender, strain and then mash them with a dollop of butter and 1 tablespoon of milk, taste to see if additional salt required and set aside.

5. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

6. Slice (not dice) additional onion. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in small pan, add cinammon stick, 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, other handful of curry leaves, then add onions and fry gently until onions are brown and starting to caramelise.

7. Add half the browned onion mixture the mash and mix through, reserve the other half.

8. Place the mince mixture in a casserole dish, top with spinach leaves, mash.

9. Using a fork, score the top of the mash, then brush with the egg. I add a red chilli to the top for decoration.

10. place in hot oven for 20 minutes until top starts crisping, then sprinkle rest of onions on top and put back into the oven for a further 10 minutes.

11. Garnish with curry leaves and coriander. Serve with a crisp green salad.

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#Loobia #Polow with Indian #meatballs

Loobia or Lubia Polo is a very popular Persian comfort dish.

It is a rice dish traditionally layered with green beans, spiced ground meat, tomatoes, herbs, and infused with saffron.

I discovered recipes for the traditional version when looking for something interesting to do with the Indian meatballs I had in the freezer and the big bag of green beans in the fridge!

A bit like an Iranian version of an Indian Pilaf or Briyani it seemed to me.

So I embarked on developing my version with the Indian Meatballs I had but these could more authentically replaced with lamb or beef mince. Have to say my version works really well but you have to make the meatballs first so is an extra step.

I made this a few months ago and tweeted a pic of the finished version and it has attracted more than 20,000 impressions! My most ever…so I thought I had to share the recipe! Hopefully you’ll like it too!?

Like Briyani it takes quite a few steps but worth it!

Prep time with meatballs: 1 hour including making and cooking meatballs, 25 minutes if using mince.

Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

    200g green beans cut into thirds
    2 tomatoes chopped
    2 onions – I finely diced, 1 halved then thinly sliced
    3 cloves garlic and 2 red chillies ground to a paste
    1 cinnamon stick
    Handful of curry leaves (optional
    1/2 teaspoon cummin seeds
    2 dried chillies (optional)
    1 teaspoon cummin powder
    1/2 teaspoon turmeric
    1.5 cups rice
    1 tspoon Saffron threads soaked in warm water
    Salt
    2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
    Plain yoghurt
    Coriander to garnish

Method

1. If using meatballs, Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees Celsius, use recipe to make the meatballs (but don’t make the chutney in that recipe! Just the meatballs) and cook meatballs for only 10 minutes or just until they are browned and sealed on the outside as they will cook fully in step blow.

2. While meatballs are cooking prepare other ingredients. Pound garlic and chillies, slice and chop onions and keep separated, chop tomatoes.

3. Par boil rice in salted water with saffron until half cooked. Drain and set aside.

4. In a heavy based casserole dish or pan, heat vegetable oil then add cinammon stick, diced onions, cummin seeds, dried chilli and curry leaves if using , cook slowly until onions go transparent.

5. Add garlic, chilli paste and cummin and turmeric to onion mixture and mix through over medium heat.

(6. If using mince, add mince to onions now and sauté until mince breaks up and Browns.)

7. Add tomatoes and green beans. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer until tomatoes start to break down about 3-4 minutes. Add another 1/2 cup water if needed.

8. If using meatballs, add them now.

9. Simmer mixture for 10 minutes to allow meatballs to absorb flavours and sauce to thicken. If using mince, then simmer for an extra 5 minutes.

10. While mixture is simmering fry thinly sliced onions in butter or oil until golden brown and slightly caramelised.

11. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

12. In a ovenproof dish, preferably a deep dish with a lid, smear bottom and sides with some oil then add a layer of rice, then sprinkle with some onions, then add a layer of the meat and beat mixture, repeat until mixture and rice is finished. Reserve some onions for the top.

13. Pour 1/2 cup of water evenly across the dish. Cover dish with foil not touching onions, and place lid on top to seal.

14. Place in oven to cook rice and allow flavours to permeate through rice for about 20 minutes. Check to see that rice is cooked but still fluffy.

15. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with yoghurt, pickles and salad.

This version doesn’t give you the burnt crispy bottom that is traditional of Loobia Polow but this could be achieved by finishing the dish off by cooking in a pot on the stove for last step instead of in oven.

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Baked Eggs with Merguez Sausages and Chilli

Looking for a spicy start to the new year? Here’s my take on middle-eastern eggs with Lamb Merguez sausages made at our local butcher. (Nick’s Meats at Edgecliff Shopping. Centre for those of you who live in Sydney.)

Prep time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients (2 servings)
3 large merguez sausages
1 red onion halved then sliced
1/2 teaspoon cummin powder
2 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
1-red chillies finely chopped
1-2 tomatoes halved or if using only one, then cut into 4 thick slices
4 teaspoons butter
Olive oil
Salt
coriander to garnish
Pita bread or tortillas to serve

Method:

1. Cook merguez sausages in a frying pan on medium heat 10-15 minutes until cooked.Rest and then cut into thick diagonal slices.

2. meanwhile heat 2-3 tablespoons of oilive oil in a separate frying pan, then fry garlic until crispy, add onions and chillies and fry until onions are slightly caramelised and translucent.


3. Remove onions and add tomatoes to the same pan, adding a bit more oilive oil if needed. sprinkle each side of the tomatoes with a pinch of cummin powder and salt as you are cooking them. You don’t want the tomatoes to break up, just brown on each side and keep their shape.

4. Place half the onions, tomatoes, sausages to reheat in a medium size frying pan or 2 seperate ovenproof dishes (leaving 2 “holes” for the eggs), add 2 teaspoons of butter to the pan, then break 2 eggs into the holes and swivel the pan or dish gently to allow egg white to reach edges of pan.

5. Place pan under hot grill and bake until eggs are cooked to your liking, preferably leaving yolks runny, garnish with coriander, eat with warm pita bread or tortillas.

Shanthini1 Comment

Victor Churchill – Haute Couture butcher in Sydney

Going to Victor Churchill’s “Haute Couture” butcher shop in Woollahra, Sydney is always inspirational and it is very difficult to leave without a delicious treat in hand.

It is a total experience, being able to watch the master butchers at work and ogle the mind bogglingly array of super-delicious products. Or better still go home with some of it!

Their is a special air drying room producing delicious charcuterie and their is also House smoked salmon and trout.

If you are feeling really indulgent or running out of time, you can order home dining – certain cuts of meat and chicken are cooked on their rotisserie and word is that their roast potatoes are delicious. They also offer charcuterie platters. Their desserts are just as divine as the rest with mouth-watering meringue tarts and more to tempt.

Today it was their Terrine de Campagne that enticed us. Here’s a taste of what you can expect.

Or visit http://www.victorchurchill.com

Definitely worth a visit especially if you are looking for the best quality meats and unusual cuts.

Shanthini5 Comments