Bollywood Cooking: Lamb Balti

Recipe From What's For Lunch, Honey?

By Meeta K. Wolff

Prep Time: 30 min

Total Time: 2 hours

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds

• 4 teaspoons coriander seeds

• 2 teaspoons black mustard seeds

• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds

• 2 teaspoons feenugreek seeds

• 2 dried red chillies

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• Thumb sized piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped

• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 400g can chopped tomatoes

• 10-15 curry leaves

• 1kg lamb shoulder, cut into chunks

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder

• 1/2 teaspoon tamarind paste

• Large bunch of coriander, chopped

Method

1. In a hot and dry pan, wok or karahi, toast the whole spices and chillies for about 1 minute until you get a nutty aroma. Make sure you move the pan around so that the spices do not burn and the mustard seeds start to pop. Transfer the spices into a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.

2. Heat oil and add the garlic, onion, ginger and fry on a low heat heat until the onions are transparent and fragrant and begin to brown. Add the tomatoes and curry leaves and simmer until the mixture thickens and the oils start to separate from the mixture.

3. Add the spice mixture, turmeric and tamarind paste to the pan and stir to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. If the mixture begins to look dry add a few splashes of water. Add the lamb, season with salt and cook for 5 minutes to coat the lamb in the tomato-spice mixture. Pour 250 ml water, cover and simmer for 1.5 hours until the meat is tender and falls apart.

4. After the 1.5 hours sprinkle the garam masala, stir and continue to cook for another 3-5 minutes. Add the coriander leaves and serve piping hot.

5. The lamb balti is best served with garlic and onion naans.

Notes

Enjoy this with a spicy carrot raita and a papaya and orange chtuney.

You will find a comprehensive list of the Indian Spice Kitchen in my Food Guide

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