Lamb in Red Gravy
This is one of the traditional dishes from the times of the Moghul emperoys. In ancient days they used alkenet root to redden the meat, but in this recipe I have used tomato, paprika and red food colouring. The flavour is fantastic and I have used an authentic Kashmiri recipe rather than a simplified restaurateurâs version.
Ingredients
1/2 lb (675 g)lean lamb, cubed
4fl oz (115 ml) yogurt
salt
1/2 lb (225 g) onion, roughly chopped
2 inch ( cm) fresh ginger, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
14 oz (400 g) tin tomatoes (or fresh)
about 8 dessertspoons ghee i tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
Spices 1
3 green cardamoms
3 cloves
3 small pieces cassia bark
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon coriander, ground
1 teaspoon cummin, ground
Spices 2
1 dessertspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons paprika
1/8 teaspoon red food colouring powder
Method
1 Mix the lamb and yoghurt, spices i and salt. Let stand for 6 hours minimum or overnight.
2 Put onion, ginger, garlic and tomato into blender, and purée.
3 Melt ghee in a pan, and add the onion purée. Put the lamb mixture into a separate pan (without ghee). Cook both for about 20â30 minutes. Salt to taste, and stir the meat occasionally to prevent sticking.
4 Combine the two mixtures and cook for a further half hour or so, until the meat is quite tender.
5 Add spices 2, and fresh coriander. Mix well and cook for a further minutes, then serve.
If at any time the curry gets too dry, add a little water. Alternatively, after both meat and purée have been fried, they can be put in a casserole dish in the oven preheated to 375°F (190°C) Gas 5 and baked for 4 minutes. Add spices 2 and cook for a further 8â1 5 minutes.
Add fresh coriander and serve.
Serves: 4