A Pakistani dry lamb curry from The Curry Guy that started suspiciously and turned outstanding.

At first, the meat is marinated in yogurt, mixed with vinegar, garlic, ginger, chilies, chickpea flour, and extremely pungent mustard oil. Which is not unusual.

Then this meat with all the marinade is plunked into the boiling water and lots of it.

For a while, you’re staring into the pot with suspended pale clumps rolling in a murky liquid, thinking: what did I just do and why. Who is going to eat that? Tom peaked into the pot and silently walked away with the look: “I hope you know what you’re doing.” Tom, I don’t.

After a while, this mush thickened a bit. When the liquid reduced to about a cup, the pot contents went into a bowl. Still looking questionable.

Now empty pot is filled with what seems to be an unreasonable amount of ghee and sliced onions. You begin to question The Curry Guy, yourself, publishing industry but follow with garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder, and dried fenugreek anyway. At this point, there’s no turning back and you’re determined to go through with the mess to the end.

Once the onions are deep brown, meat with that white liquid goes into the onion mix. And you start thinking how to hide the fiasco.

Suddenly, after a few minutes on high heat, you are staring at the beautiful glossy curry just like the one in the picture in the book where crispy tender bits of lamb are shining with just a touch of thick and creamy sauce. And you can’t restrain yourself from tasting. And tasting. And tasting.

A truly outstanding recipe.

#food #cooking #lambcurry #pakistanifood #homemade #thecurryguy #inmykitchen

Charles' Sizzling Upgrades: Electric SUV & Curry at Sandringham
https://youtu.be/ZHwJm2KdVYg
#KingCharles #Sandringham #LotusEletre #ElectricSUV #RoyalClaret #Curry #AberfieldSheep #LambCurry #RestaurantMenu #KeirStarmer #BeijingVisit #RoyalUpgrades

Cape Malay — savory, rich, and spicy lamb curry from South Africa with rice, roti, and pickled tomato-onion relish.

The list of ingredients is long but, an Ottolenghi-groomed mise-en-place-enthusiast, I breezed through it with pleasure. This is my favorite way to cook acquired years ago reading books by Fu Pei Mei, a distinguished Chinese culinary artist: lists and steps.

Besides curry, a pleasant discovery was the relish, or sambal. There was so nothing special in the list of ingredients that I almost skipped making it — the abundance of garden tomatoes became the decisive factor. Glad It happened — the relish turned out quite special, which I credit to the combination of white vinegar, sugar, and salt.

Step 1 — dry toasting whole spices until fragrant:
— 2 cinnamon sticks
— 6 green cardamom pods
— 6 allspice berries
— 6 cloves

Step 2 — sautéing aromatics until caramelized and thick:
— 1/2 cup neutral oil
— 3 onions, chopped
— 5 garlic cloves, minced
— 1.5” piece of ginger, minced
— 3 tomatoes, grated

Step 3 — dry spices — 10 min simmer:
— 1 tsp turmeric
— 2 tsp chili powder
— 1 tsp chili flakes
— 2 tsp cumin
— 2 tsp coriander
— 10 curry leaves
— 1 tsp sugar
— 1 tsp salt

Step 4 — meat and vegetables — simmer:
— 1/2 cup boiling water
— 2 lb lamb, cut into 1.5“ cubes — 30 min, covered
— 1 lb potatoes, cut as lamb — 30 min uncovered

Step 5 — garnish:
— cilantro
— scallions
— chopped fresh chilies

RELISH:
— 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
— 2 tsp sugar
— pinch of salt and pepper
— 1 chopped tomato
— 1/2 minced onion
— 1 green chili pepper
— chopped cilantro

#food #stew #lambcurry #cookingathome #cookingslow

A stroll through Brick Lane in the East End of London. But the best place we found just off it.

Pakistani Tayyabs and its curries was amazing. Probably my first serious encounter with the food from this part of South Asia.

Once we got back home, it inspired some serious cooking. Stand by…

#travel #food #pakistanirestaurant #tayyabs #lambcurry #london #eastend