LAMB KORMA

This recipe turned out great! It's a little complicated because I looked up a bunch of different lamb korma recipes and combined ingredients that I thought would go well together. I have only made this once, so I'm sure after a couple of tries I will start tweaking it. If you try it, let me know what you changed/liked/disliked.


Ingredients:

1 ½ lb lamb or mutton (if using mutton, you my need to use a pressure cooker and let the mutton cook for 3-4 whistles)

3 small red-skinned potatoes (about 1-2” in diameter), scrubbed and halved

3 small white-skinned potatoes (about 1-2” in diameter), scrubbed and halved

(You can peel the skin for these, but I like the flavor and I think the skin has a lot of nutritional value! But make sure you scrub them good to get all the dirt and grime off)

6 cardamom pods, cracked open

1 tsp turmeric pwd

1 tsp chili pwd

1 tsp cumin pwd
1 tsp fennel pwd
1 tsp coriander pwd

1 tbsp lemon juice

½” cube of ginger, crushed

2 garlic cloves, crushed

½ tsp saffron threads

¼ cup hot milk

2 tbsp coconut milk pwd

1 large onion, chopped

½ cup plain yoghurt

¼ cup cream

2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

¼ cup sliced almonds/cashews/pistachios

6 tbsp ghee (or butter)

2 tsp salt

For the korma masala:

¼ cup unsalted cashews

¼ cup almonds

½” cube fresh ginger
2 tbsp shredded dessicated coconut

1 garlic clove, peeled

2” stick of cinnamon
3 dried red chilies, deseeded as much as possible
1/4 tsp nutmeg pwd

1 tsp cardamom seeds or pwd

3 whole cloves

2 tbsp poppy seeds

1tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

¼ cup cold milk
Toast the cinnamon, dessicated coconut, dried red chilies, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds.
Set aside to cool.
Toast the poppy seeds separately and set aside to cool.

Combine all the ingredients in a blender until the mixture is a thick paste.

Add 1tbsp of water at a time when blending if paste is becoming too dry.

Preparation:

Marinate the lamb in the lemon juice, and the turmeric, chili and cumin pwds for a couple of hours.

Soak the saffron in the hot milk.

Place the potatoes in a glass bowl.  Sprinkle a few tsps of water over them and cover with a damp paper towel. Heat in the microwave for 3 minutes at a time until the potatoes are slightly soft, but not cooked all the way through.

Cook:

Heat ghee on medium-high heat in large pot (or pressure cooker).

Add onions and sauté until transparent.

Add cardamom pods, crushed ginger and garlic and sauté for a few more minutes until onions are caramelized and dark brown.

Add the marinated mutton pieces and sear until brown on both sides. Make sure not to crowd the pan, so do this in batches if necessary and remove cooked mutton to a plate.

Once all the meat is seared, return it to the pot and add the korma masala.  Make sure to coat the mutton pieces evenly.

Add the yogurt 1 tbsp at a time, stirring constantly and incorporating it into the mixture.
Add the milk.

Turn heat down to low and let is simmer for 1 ½ hours. This is part of the braising process for the meat.

(If using a pressure cooker, add ½ cup of water and put the lid on. Let it whistle 4 times. Turn heat off and let pressure cooker cool before removing the lid.)

Once meat is cooked through, add potatoes, salt, the saffron with the milk it was soaking in, the cream and the coconut milk pwd making sure everything is stirred through.

Let this simmer for 10 minutes so that the sauce thickens and the potatoes get a chance to absorb the flavor and cook all the way through.

This is a good time to taste the sauce and see if it needs more salt.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and sliced nuts.

ENJOY!