Our editor-in-chief, with all the awesome majesty and might his title implies, made comments on another venue regarding lamb curry, which I happen to regard as my own special province, and, wary that I may have already have introduced this recipe to our readers (can’t remember. sorry.), I herewith present the only lamb curry recipe that Vishnu and his minions will sanction. I would like to say that I obtained this secret from a 200 year old yogi in Bengali, but in fact, it came from a lower east side New York Jewish rock and roll public relations wizard, Caol Klenfner, whose fame for this dish lured everyone from Mick Jagger and Clive Davis to me and my first wife to her table. I obtained it after ten years of begging, because she was tired of making it, and just didn’t care any more. When you read the spice list, you’ll see why. But it’s worth it. And the spices will make many batches of curry.
Ingredients:
5 lbs. lamb shank, bone still in, chopped into 2″ cubes.
1 cup plain yogurt
1 large onion
1 small can tomato paste
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 crushed dried red peppers — you pick how hot. I recommend dried red chili
(Make your own curry powder — that’s one of two real secrets)
6 tbsp. cumin
2 tbsp. coriander
2 tbsp. mustard seed
1 tbsp. fenugreek
1 tbsp. tumeric
1 tbsp. Nigerian cayenne
1 tbsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. allspice
1 tbsp. garam marsala (optional)
1 tbsp. Vindalu powder (optional)
1 tbsp. salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (or two, if small)
Mix spices into one bowl.
Chop onion finely.
Saute while stirring at medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add spices, mix in thoroughly.
Roast spices while stirring occasionally over medium heat for at least 5 minutes. (The smell will make you almsot faint from hunger)
Turn heat to high.
Add lamb, cover.
Let lamb cook for 5 minutes. (the fat will provide all the liquid you need)
Reduce heat to medium
Add yogurt, stirring.
Add tomato paste.
Stir thoroughly.
Do not cover — let cook at a simmer for 45 minutes. Stir very occasionally.
Add heavy cream. Increase heat to medium, until simmering again, then reduce heat.
Let simmer for another 15 minutes.
Serve with:
(all in separate bowls to be passed around as garnishes)
Sliced cold tomato wedges
Sliced cold cucumber slices
Peanuts
Shredded coconut (canned)
Sliced bananas
and (most important)
the best Major Grey mango chutney you can find.
Serve with plain white rice — it soaks up the sauce, and is near Nirvana. Don’t be afraid to use your fingers, and have lots of paper napkins. That tumeric will never come out in the laundry.
Really cold beer is the best beverage with this.
I know, this looks like a lot of work, but it really isn’t. You have to mix some spices, and buy a lot of stuff, but it’s remarkably
easy to make. The initial spice cost is high, but you can make it last over about eight or ten curries, except for the cumin, which goes pretty fast. And after you’ve had it, you’ll want another eight or ten.
Oh — you’ll know if you did it right if everyone’s fingers are yellow for two days.
Submit to Stumbled Upon!
Sigh.
And there is something to be said for (relative) simplicity.
3 lbs leg of lamb, diced 1″ cubes. (Use the sirloin, not the shank end).
1 1/2 fresh coconut meat, grated. (Save the milk).
Combine coconut milk with water to make 7cups liquid. Boil the grated coconut in the liquid, then sieve out the coconut. (This is a jazzed up version of “first santan.”)
3 2″ pieces of cinnamon
6 tsp tumeric powder
3 Tbs tamarind juice
Salt to taste.
The curry paste:
24 small dried red chilis
6 tsp coriander seeds
3 tsp cumin seeds
3 tsp anise seeds
6 large yellow onions
15 cloves garlic
3 1 1/2″ pieces of ginger, unpeeled
Heat the chilies, coriander, cumin, and anise over a low fire until dark brown and the smell comes up. This smell is called “bow-si-ong” (that’s the best phonetic pronunciation I can come up with, sorry, Chinese speakers). You’ll recognize it - the whole aroma of your kitchen will change.
Remove the seeds and pound with the finely chopped onions, garlic, and ginger to produce a paste.
Boil the lamb in the coconut water mixture with the tumeric, salt, and cinnamon in a covered pan. Add a little chicken broth if you need more liquid. When the lamb is tender, add the paste you’ve made, simmer for another five or six minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Serve with Basmati rice and whatever Chutney cranks your yank.
This recipe, (and variations) is big in Singapore, where British, Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian cookery meet, clash, and mix to great and good effect. This is a fine example.
Okay, Bill, you have my attention. I’m going to try it, as an unregenerate curry freak. It has the “spice roasting” aspect essential to a true curry.
I’ll let you know.
This version is pretty hot. You can adjust the chilis to taste.
Just to start off: Major Grey’s is for pussies.
Please to see that you used “gantlet,” by the way. But then, I knew you were one of those edumacated folks.
Lamb Curry
Folks, this one is a little, shall we say, involved. It’s a two day operation, involving a leg of lamb that is smoke roasted, and then the curry produced from that lamb. I’ve done this very many times to much whoopin’ and hollerin’, not to mention the ululations from the women folk.
Start the morning before the day you’re going to serve this.
For the lamb:
Curry powder as follows:
8 T. cumin seed
4 T. coriander seed
3 T. black mustard seed
2 T. fenugreek
2 T. black pepper corns
2 T. tumeric
10 e. dried Thai long chilis, halved & seeded
2 t. cloves
1 T. ground Vietnamese cinnamon
1 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. ground mace
Take the first 8 ingredients and place in a pan. Over medium heat, toast until the aromas really hit you good and please to not scorch. Empty the pan onto a plate and let cool. When cool, place in the coffee grinder that you use for a spice grinder (You’ve got one of those, right?) and grind until finely ground. Add the rest of the spices.
For the curry paste:
1/8 cup of clarified butter or ghee
1 large onion, diced
1 bulb of garlic, peeled and diced. Yeah. I said bulb.
2 big thumbs of ginger, peeled and finely grated
½ of the curry powder
2 t. sea salt
In a large pan, sauté the onion and garlic in the clarified butter/ghee until tender. Add the curry powder and salt, and sauté for a bit. Take off heat and let cool. In a small processor, puree this mixture until smooth.
1 boneless leg of lamb
Remove the net from the leg of lamb, taking care to keep it intact. You’re gonna be putting it back on.
Spread the lamb along the cuts. Take a sharp knife to those various flaps and butterfly the lamb out further. Remove any tough sinew that gets in the way, but keep as much of the fat as possible.
With rubber gloves on your hands, take the curry paste and spread it on the inside of the lamb. Fold the lamb back up and put the net back on. Be patient. It can be done. If you get frustrated, then just tie it up with butcher’s twine.
Rub the outside with some warm clarified butter/ghee. Rub in as much raw curry powder as you think is sane. Really rub it in. Salt it liberally, too.
Place in a bag or something applicable, and put in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours.
Get your grill going and have some good smoking wood.
You’ll want to use an indirect method. Charcoal will yield the best results and the best taste, as will green wood for smoking.
Slowly smoke roast the lamb with a drip pan underneath. Just roast until it’s medium to medium well.
Remove and let sit for about 20 minutes. Reserve drippings from pan and sitting lamb. Refrigerate. Take that smoked leg of lamb and wrap it tightly in good food service grade film. Really wrap it. Many layers. Toss the lamb in the fridge.
The Next Day:
Remove the lamb from the fridge, unwrap, and cube the thing up. Yes, you may taste. Yum.
The Lamb Curry:
3 T. clarified butter/ghee
1 large onion, diced
3 ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
1 quart of stock – chicken, beef, lamb, whatever.
Reserved drippings from roasting the lamb
Cubed lamb
8 oz. of paneer cheese, diced into small cubes
Sea salt to taste
In a dutch oven, over medium low heat, sauté the onion in the clarified butter/ghee until tender. Add the tomatoes and continue to sauté until the toms start breaking down. Add the stock, drippings and lamb. Bring to a boil, and turn down to simmer. Reduce the stock until the curry begins to get a bit thick. Remove from heat and add the paneer cheese. I doubt it’ll need salt, but adjust to your tastes.
Serve with basmati cooked with a 4 or 5 cardamom pods.
Off to the side, I offer the following:
Lime pickle
Garlic pickle
Whole milk yogurt cilantro raita
Diced tomatoes
Shredded English cukes, “seeded”
Chopped mint leaves
And beer. Lots of ice cold beer.
Wow.
Just to let y’all know, I was at times a professional cook who could call himself occasionally a “chef” by virtue of running a kitchen, hitting food cost, hiring, firing, etc. But I am a cook.
Mojo is a chef.
What you see above is an excellent example of the difference between the two.
Hmmm…Lamb Curry…
I lurves me some Curried - Almost Anything (well - maybe not ice cream - but, still…) -
My favorite Curry “recipe”:
1) Call these folks.
2) Order according to needs for, oh, say, the next three days (Lamb Curry tonite, Chicken Tikka Masala tomorrow night, possibly Fish or Shrimp Vindaloo for Sunday dinner, for example…)
3) Don’t forget Mango Lassi (in place of dessert) and some Mint or Mango Chutney (made on-site, of course)
4) Pick up carry-out order in about 40 minutes - back home in 8 - 10 (depending on traffic lights).
5) Enjoy.
Got that covered…an IPA does real well; Dogfish Head is good, though Sierra Nevada Pale Ale does well in a pinch.
San Diego county has become a great place for IPAs over the last few years:
All have most excellent IPAs (especially if you like IPAs with lots and lots of hops)