1,000 Indian Recipes (257 page)

Rosemary ki Chaampein

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Rosemary is not an Indian herb. But my years in California often prompt me to sneak some into my Indian preparations, especially since it marries well with the usual Indian flavors.

1 cup
Yogurt Cheese
or sour cream

2 tablespoons
Basic Ginger-Garlic Paste
(or store-bought)

20 to 25 black peppercorns

20 to 25 cloves

5 to 7 green cardamom pods

3 black cardamom pods, seeds only

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon ground cinnamon

¹
⁄
₄
teaspoon ground nutmeg

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon salt, or to taste

¹
⁄
₄
cup finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 to 10 lamb loin chops with bone (about 2
¹
⁄
₂
pounds), trimmed of all visible fat

1 cup water

¹
⁄
₄
cup minced scallions, green parts only

2 to 3 sprigs of rosemary

1.
Prepare the yogurt cheese and the ginger-garlic paste. Then, in a spice or coffee grinder, grind together the peppercorns, cloves, green cardamom pods, and black cardamom seeds. Remove to a small nonstick skillet and mix in the ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Roast, stirring and shaking the skillet, over medium heat until the spices are a few shades darker and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

2.
In a bowl, mix together the yogurt cheese (or sour cream), ginger-garlic paste, rosemary, roasted spices, and oil.

3.
Place the lamb chops in a non-reactive bowl. Add the yogurt mixture and mix well, making sure all the pieces are well-coated with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator at least 4 and up to 24 hours.

4.
Leaving the marinade behind, transfer the chops to a large nonstick skillet and cook, turning once or twice over medium-high heat, until completely dry and well-browned, about 10 minutes.

5.
Mix about 1 cup water to the reserved marinade and add it to the skillet. Cover and cook over medium heat until the chops are very tender with a thick sauce clinging to them, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with scallion greens and rosemary sprigs, and serve.

Sautéed Lamb Cutlets with Fenugreek

Methi Chaampein

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Added at different stages during cooking, fenugreek—both as seeds and as leaves—lends its characteristic aroma to this dish. In this recipe I use thin leg cutlets, which cook quickly.

¹
⁄
₂
cup
Yogurt Cheese
or sour cream

6 to 8 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger

2 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled

1 to 3 fresh green chile peppers, such as serrano, stemmed

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon ground fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

12 to 15 thin-cut lamb cutlets (about 2 pounds), all visible fat trimmed

1 tablespoon peanut oil

2 tablespoons ground dried fenugreek leaves

1 teaspoon ground paprika

1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice

2 medium onions, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

¹
⁄
₄
cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems

1.
Prepare the yogurt cheese. Then, in a food processor or a blender, process together the ginger, garlic, green chile peppers, yogurt cheese, and vinegar until smooth. Add the garam masala, ground fenugreek seeds, and salt and process again until blended.

2.
Place the lamb cutlets in a large non-reactive bowl. Add the processed marinade and mix well, making sure all the lamb pieces are well-coated. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator at least 4 and up to 24 hours.

3.
Place the lamb and oil in a large nonstick skillet in a single layer (in 2 batches, if necessary) and cook over medium heat, about 5 minutes per side, turning once, until well-browned on both sides.

4.
Sprinkle the fenugreek leaves, paprika, and lemon juice over them and cook another 2 to 3 minutes, turning once. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm.

5.
Add the onions to the same skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onions are slightly wilted and completely coated with whatever spices remain in the skillet, about 3 minutes. Spread evenly on a serving platter and place the lamb cutlets over them. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Whole Leg of Lamb and Rack of Lamb

Pot-Roasted Leg of Lamb

Raan—Dum-Pukht

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Raan
, a term often used for a whole leg of goat or lamb, actually refers only to the upper thigh portion of the leg. Most people simply use the whole leg and call it a
raan
, but my friend Sunil Vora, owner of The Clay Pit restaurant in Los Angeles, insists that an authentic
raan
should be made only with the thigh portion.

Here are other crucial
raan
facts: The meat should come from baby lamb, not more than 3 months old. It should be poked, pricked, or cut thoroughly to the bone, all the fibers pounded and broken, and the meat well-loosened around the bone. These steps are of utmost importance because, once cooked, you should be able to spoon the soft-cooked meat off the bone. All this translates to a labor of love and slow roasting.

¹
⁄
₂
cup
Almond and Poppy Seed Paste
, made with coconut milk

1 recipe
Basic Onion Paste

1
¹
⁄
₂
teaspoons garam masala

¹
⁄
₄
cup
Crispy Fried Fresh Ginger
, optional

1 (4- to 5-pound) leg of baby lamb (
Buying Leg of Lamb
), all visible fat trimmed

1
¹
⁄
₂
teaspoons garam masala

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon ground nutmeg

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon ground mace

¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon cayenne pepper

1
¹
⁄
₂
teaspoons salt, or to taste

¹
⁄
₃
to
¹
⁄
₂
cup ghee or vegetable oil

2 (1-inch) sticks cinnamon

4 bay leaves

2 tablespoons fennel seeds

¹
⁄
₄
teaspoon ground asafoetida mixed with
¹
⁄
₂
cup water

Tomato wedges, thinly sliced scallions, fresh green chile peppers, toasted sliced almonds (optional)

1.
Prepare the almond-poppy seed and the onion pastes. Prepare the fried ginger, if using. Carefully trim off the white membrane from the surface of the meat and, with a long-pronged barbecue fork or a thin knife with a pointed tip, prick it thoroughly all around to the bone, until all the fibers are broken.

2.
In a bowl, mix together the onion and almond pastes, garam masala, nutmeg, mace, cayenne pepper, and salt and smear well over the surface of the meat. Then prick again to ensure that the paste penetrates inside the meat. Save any leftover seasoning mixture. Tie the meat with a string if it seems to befalling apart. Place in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 4 and up to 48 hours.

3.
Place the marinated lamb in a large, heavy saucepan. In another small saucepan heat the ghee, cinnamon, bay leaves, and fennel seeds until sizzling, then pour slowly over the lamb, making sure the spices oil covers the entire surface well before settling to the bottom of the pan.

4.
Cover the lamb and cook over medium heat until all the juices evaporate, about 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, turn the lamb over, add the reserved marinade plus
¹
⁄
₄
cup of the asafoetida-water and scrape to mix in any spices that stick to bottom of the pan.

5.
Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook about 1 hour until the lamb starts to soften, adding the remaining asafoetida-water as the juices dry up.

6.
Continue to cook in this manner, turning the lamb to cook each side, scraping the pan, and adding 2 to 3 tablespoons water whenever the juices dry up, until the lamb takes on a rich, well-browned color all around and becomes fork-tender, 60 to 90 minutes. (Start testing after an hour, then check every 10 minutes until the meat is soft.)

7.
Transfer to a serving platter, top with the crispy fried ginger and all the other garnishes (if using), and serve.