I have put this modification in because in the spirit of this Forum I seem to have posted an authentic curry recipe. The recipe was created by me in an attempt replicate the curries made by the Everest Restaurant on Portland St Manchester city centre. If anyone has eaten there you will recognise, I hope, the similarity. I accept it is one of those difficult areas of definition, but if you are not a purist and you do not include the methi leaves and coriander you can treat this as a base. I keep small pots of this frozen base for when I am doing this recipe for my customer takeaways. My apologies to one and all
Well here it is good people. The reason I use PC's curry powder is because it has already got all the flavours and ingredients I would normally use for this dish anyway; it is almost Nepalese in flavour I suppose you could use other powders or even make your own. The important thing is to get a blend that represents Punjabi regional cooking from the far North. A Kashmiri or Gurkha (Nepalese) powder/recipe would work well I think. Anyway the strength and subtlety is down to the roasting of the spices.
CP?s Punjabi Lamb
This recipe uses a curry powder and Garam Masala from Pat Chapman?s restaurant curry books. They are recipes given to him by his Mum I believe.
You will need the following
I leg of Lamb boned, fat and sinew removed, and cut into 2 inch pieces. I butcher my own meats and strip out the muscular meat so that it cooks properly. This is too complex to explain here, but you should always cut meat at an angle across the grain.
You can use boned shoulder but remember that it cooks quicker and breaks up if you are not careful.
If you want to go ethnic then ask your butcher to simply remove the fat and band-saw whichever joint you use in to slices including the bones, and then cut into smaller pieces as described; a helal butcher will know exactly what to do. This will of course extend the cooking time and flavour. You could use a slow cooker for the final cooking time.
2 cups of Chilli Prawn?s Barga Onion base (a cup is 250ml)
1 560gm tin of chopped plum tomatoes (or the equivalent amount of Passata).
1 Dsp Tomato paste (concentrate)
I cup of Pat Chapman?s curry powder (you can use more if you wish)
1 Tblspn of aromatic Garam Masala (Pat Chapman?s is good)
1 Dsp of Methi seeds (Whole)
1 Dsp of Methi leaves (Kasuri dry or fresh)
1 Dsp medium chilli powder
1 Dsp salt
? tsp black pepper
1 or 2 cups of natural live yoghurt.
Handful of chopped fresh coriander (stalks and leaves **)
2 cups of Ghee or Groundnut oil
Method
Heat the oil in a heavy pan
Add the Methi seeds fry for 3-4 seconds
Add Onion Barga base and Tomato paste
Bring back to high heat and add the curry powder
Reduce to low heat and stir constantly to avoid sticking and burning for 2 minutes, add more oil if needed
Add Methi leaves, fresh Coriander, chilli powder, half the salt, and black pepper.
Turn heat to medium and stir for a further 2 minutes until oil rises and separates. If this does not happen add more oil.
Add yoghurt a little at a time (wait for oil to rise before you add more)
Add lamb pieces and turn the heat up high, stir fry until lamb has started to turn grey (sealed), but do not brown.
Add tinned tomatoes
Cover the pan and cook on the lowest hob heat or in an oven at 90 degrees C.
Check occasionally to make sure it does not?t dry up. Add only milk if needed, please don?t add stock or water. ****
Cooking time will vary according to the quality of lamb and the nuances of your pan/hob/oven, so cook until the lamb is how you like it. Be careful because if you overcook lamb it will break up.
Add remaining salt to taste and then add Garam Masala.
Cook for about 5 minutes (until aroma of masala rises)
And serve.
Notes/Tips
? Onion base is simply fried whole spices (Green Cardamom, Cinnamon or Cassia, Cloves, Bay leaves) fried with finely chopped onion and garlic.
? Water can explode spices and release the flavour too quickly, so milk is the safest and gives a better taste.
? Coriander stalks are bitter and should never be used in a dish garnish or finisher
? Remember to roast spices separately from eachother as each has a different time to reach its critical roast/flavour point.
I am sure you will have many questions and I will answer as best as I can. FYI I usuall cook about 3-4 large legs of lamb in one batch. It does freeze well. As always the quantities are not critical but the ratios of spice and other ingredients are; for this is what distinguishes one curry from the rest.... Yes?
Happy Cooking as always
C P
Topic: CPs Punjabi Lamb (Read 6930 times)
