Category: lamb

Yummy #Kashmiri #Yakhni #Pulao

I made my yummy version of a Yakhni Pulao tonight, a traditional Kashmiri and Pakistani rice dish in which the spiced meat stock used to flavour the rice is the star of the show. (Yakhni means soup or broth)

Yakhni Pulao

Taste Atlas describes Yakhni pulao as a traditional rice-based dish with Persian origins, that over the years made its way from Moghul cuisine to India, where it’s especially popular in regions such as Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. The yakhni stock can be made with chicken or lamb.

Yakhni stock

Here are some recipes I found from Tea for Turmeric and Archana’ s Kitchen which I am used as the basis for my version, the recipe for which I will share later this week.

Yakhni Pulao is known for unique flavours created by simmering the chicken or meat in a stock of whole spices such as green and black cardamom, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, fennel seed, cloves and star anise. I used curry leaves instead of bay leaves adding their distinct flavour to the stock, but bay leaves are more traditionally used.

I made it with lamb bone-in lamb chump chops with all the fat cut away and diced into small pieces. I simmered the lamb in water and spices for 35 minutes until the lamb was tender and a rich stock had been created.

Add water to meat and spices and simmer to create Yakhni stock

Whilst the list of spices is long, the actual Yakhni Pulao is easy to make and the delicious aromas which fill the kitchen while the meat is cooking are a great indicator of the tastes to come.

The finished dish is enhanced by spicy sides, pickles and salads. I made Spicy Indian Mint and Coriander Chutney, Indian Carrot Salad and a Cucumber Kachumber salad. Recipes to come too!

Side dishes add a splash of colour and enhance the finished Yakhni Pulao

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Lamb and Spinach Curry with lime!

This is a great summer curry …the addition of lime and coriander during the cooking process results in a spicy, zesty curry which is even better the next day.

Zesty lamb and spinach curry with lime!

It’s a classic and regular favourite in our home. With a busy weekend scheduled I have made extra for a few meals. Here’s the link to the original recipe below.

Lamb and spinach curry with lime
Lamb and Spinach Curry with Lime

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#Durban style #lamb and #cauliflower #curry with #fenugreek

I haven’t made this curry for ages. Not sure why because it is very delicious, especially with the addition of the sweet, nutty flavour of fenugreek seeds which is strangely reminiscent of maple syrup.

The sweetness of the cauliflower is enhanced by the fenugreek and spiced up by the curry flavours of the sauce. A great alternative to using potato in Lamb and Potato Curry

Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

  • 5-6 lamb chump chops, fat removed and diced including bones
  • 4 cloves garlic and equal amount of ginger pound to a paste in a mortar and pestle
  • 1 large brown or white onion finely diced
  • 1/2 cauliflower cut into florets
  • 2 whole red chillies (optional)
  • 1 tomato cut into large chunks
  • 1 tspoon cummin powder
  • 1 tspoon turmeric
  • 1 tspoon chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon cummin seeds
  • 1 stick cinnamon bark/1 quill
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • Handful of curry leaves (optional)
  • 2 tspoons fenugreek seeds
  • 1 tspoon salt
  • coriander to garnish
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Method:

1. Heat vegetable in a large casserole pot on medium heat, add cummin seeds, cinnamon bark and curry leaves if using. Cook for just a minute until fragrant.

2. Add onions and cook slowly until transparent.

3. Add ginger and garlic paste and mix through onions.

4. Add cummin powder, turmeric, salt, chilli and mix through until just heated through. Take care not to burn.

5. Add lamb and stir until it’s sealed. Add a bit of chicken stock to stop the lamb sticking if needed. After about 10 minutes, add the fenugreek seeds and enough stock to cover the lamb, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 35 minutes until the lamb is starting to get tender.

Lamb and cauliflower curry with fenugreek seeds

6. Add cauliflower and tomato and simmer for another 15 minutes until the cauliflower is cooked and the sauce is reduced.

7. Garnish with coriander and serve with basmati rice and or naan and salads.

Durban style Lamb and cauliflower curry

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#Lamb Curry #Filo Pie with #Kersik #Coconut crumbs

We are trying to cut down on carbs again so trying to come up with ways to have curry flavours without eating rice or breads.

This recipe is inspired by Morrocan B’stilla, replacing the filling with Indian flavours and replacing the almond cinnamon icing sugar sprinkle traditionally used in the Morrocan version with Kersik, a Keralan coconut crumb mixed with cinnamon and cardamom powder.

Basically, you first make a dry curry with desiccated coconut and then bake it in a light filo pastry crust. The result was a delicious crispy package with spicy slow cooked lamb filling.

Defrost Pastry: 2 hours Prep time: 20 minutes cooking time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

  • 7 sheets filo pastry
  • 4 lamb chump chops, bone in, cut into bite size pieces (reserve bones to use in curry)
  • 1 large onion thinly sliced into half moons
  • 3 cloves garlic, equal ginger and 2 red chillies pounded into paste (about 3 teaspoons)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cinnamon stick or piece of cinnamon bark
  • 1 teaspoon cummin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
  • 4 cardamom pods
  • 3 dried chillies
  • 1 star anise
  • Handful curry leaves (oprtional)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon cummin powder
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
  • Salt
  • 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinammon powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder(optional)
  • 1/4 cup melted butter slightly cooled

Method:

1. Remove filo pastry from fridge to bring to room temperature allowing 2 hours.

2. Prepare onions, ginger garlic chilli paste and cut up lamb.

3. Heat oil in heavy based casserole dish, add cummin seeds, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, cardamom pods and curry leaves and cook over medium heat until crackling stops. Take care not to burn spices.

4. Add onions and cook slowly until golden and just starting to caramelise.

5. Add ginger,garlic, chilli paste and mix through onions cooking until fragrant, about 1 minute.

6. Add turmeric, chilli and cummin powders and mix through to distribute evenly and just heat through.

7. Add lamb, 1/2 teaspoon salt, dried chillies and 2 tablespoons water to stop sticking and coat lamb in onion spice mixture. Slow lamb to seal, stirring from time to time for 2-3 minutes.

8. Add 1.5 cups of hot water or chicken stock to just cover lamb. Simmer with lid on over low heat for 30 minutes, checking regularly to ensure it isn’t sticking.

9. While lamb is simmering, toast the coconut until golden brown in a dry pan, taking great care as it will burn quickly if not constantly shifted and stirred. Allow coconut to cool slightly.

10. Add 1/2 the toasted coconut to the lamb and mix through, add more water or stock and cook for another 15-20 minutes until lamb is very tender and liquid is reduced.

11. Taste to see if additional salt required, this is unlikely especially if you are using chicken stock with salt in it.

12. Clean, chop coriander and mint. Melt butter and allow to cool slightly.

14. Remove lid and reduce mixture until liquid almost totally reduced, leaving only a moist coating on the lamb. Then mix through coriander and mint.

14. Transfer lamb to a plate to cool, remove dried chillies, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods(if you want and can find them). I just leave them in! PRE-HEAT oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

15. Whilst lamb is cooling, mix cinnamon powder and cardamom powder with remaining toasted coconut, pound together in a mortar and pestle, making a fragrant mixture to layer between the pastry sheets.

16. Take one sheet of filo pastry, lay horizontally, brush with butter and lay another sheet on top and repeat with another sheet. After 3 sheets, brush the next one with utter and add a sprinkling of the Kersik coconut mixture. (4 filo sheets in total horizontally)

17. Layer a sheet of filo vertically across the middle of the horizontal stack, brush with butter, sprinkle with coconut mixture and repeat with 2 more sheets. (3 filo sheets vertically in total)

18. Add the lamb mixture in a neat even pile in the middle section where the base is made up of 7 sheets of filo.

19. Fold the horizontal section over from right to left, taking some of the vertical section over to create a straight edge, brush with butter, sprinkle with more coconut if you have any left, fold the left side in and repeat with remaining sections of pastry to create a neat rectangular parcel.

10. Place the parcel face down on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Brush with remaining melted butter.

11. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes until pastry is golden brown.

12. Remove, sprinkle with remaining Kersik, allow to cool for 5 minutes and cut into wedges to serve with salad, and raita.

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Simple Roman #Lamb

Simple delicious Italian dish that transports me back to trattorias in the back streets of Rome. Fresh, honest food, cooked with love!

We’ve been enjoying the Spring weather and trips to our local markets here in Sydney …the vegetables at the markets are so much fresher and much more interesting than supermarkets.

We are lucky despite lockdown to have Paddington markets and EQ markets nearby, within our 5km lockdown zone. A long way from Rome but inspiration to recreate some of the memories of times gone by.

These photos are from dinners reviewed here Divine food in the eternal city at Da Enzo and La Pentolaccia

So my humble Roman Lamb recipe truly pays back by transporting us to wonderful times of international travel and many visits to Rome.

Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time:1 hour

  • Ingredients
  • 6 lamb chump chops on the bone, fat removed and cut into chunks or 750g lamb shoulder, fat removed and cut into chunks
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 4/5 sprigs of fresh thyme(optional)
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1 tablespoon coarse chopped rosemary
  • Chopped parsley to garnish
  • 4 anchovy fillets coarsely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
  • Salt and ground black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

2. Chop meat, heat oil to almost smoking, then brown in batches, adding 2 chopped cloves of garlic along the way. I use a non-stick frying pan and then transfer to a small casserole dish. ( beware this will turn your smoke alarms on if you don’t use fans/open windows!)

3. Place lamb and garlic in a casserole dish with a lid. Sprinkle with salt, lots of black pepper, thyme and flour.

4. Meanwhile deglaze the pan in which you browned the meat with 1 cup of white wine, then pour the wine and pan juices mixture over the lamb.

5. Put casserole dish in oven with lid on for 30 minutes.

6. While lamb is roasting, put rest of garlic, rosemary and anchovies into a mortar and pestle and pound into a smooth a paste as you can. Add the wine vinegar and mix vigorously to creates an emulsion.

7. After 30 minutes, remove lamb from oven, pour over the rosemary emulsion and mix through well.

8. Put lamb back in oven with lid off for another 30 minutes until fully cooked through and browned on top.

9. Remove from oven, allow to rest for 5 minutes and serve with sides such as #Cipollini Onions #agrodolce or Roman #Cauliflower? #Broccoli? Or a simple rocket and parmesan salad.

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#Mustard #parmesan and #rosemary encrusted rack of #lamb

This was a delicious quick dinner tonight. This like a crumbed roast with no carbs. The addition of a bit of beaten egg to the coating mixture makes sure the lamb has a lovely parmesan, mustard and rosemary “crust.” Quick and easy dinner any night of the week or looks impressive for dinner part.Great with a nice salad or add roast potato or chips if you like.

Prep time: 10 minutes cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 rack of lamb (5-6 cutlets)
  • 3 tablespoons Dijon or mild English mustard
  • Handful of fresh Rosemary leaves stripped from stem
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1 garlic clove crushed or minced
  • Salt and black pepper

Method:

1. Heat oven to 200 degrees celcius

2. Heat non-stick saucepan on stovetop, sprinkle rack of lamb with salt and crushed black pepper and drizzle with olive oil

3. Brown lamb on all sides in pan, until nice brown colour achieved

4. Line baking pan with baking paper.

5. Place lamb rack on baking pan.

6. Mix mustard, rosemary leaves and 4 tablespoons of the beaten egg.

7. Smear mustard mixture thickly on all exposed part of the lamb rack.

8 sprinkle with half the parmesan.

9. Cook in oven for 20 minutes.

10.remove from oven, a sprinkle with the rest of the parmesan, then return to the oven for another 5-8 minutes.

11. Check that meat is done to your liking with a meat thermometer 71 degrees for medium rare is how we like it.

12. Remove lamb from oven, allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.

13. Serve with salad and roast potatoes or chips.

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