GOSHT KALI MIRCH / SPICY LAMB IN BLACK PEPPER…& BLOGGERAID

Very often I find myself leafing through the pages of one of my fave Indian food blogs…Quick Indian Cooking run by none other than the glamorous Mallika. She’s quite the Domestic Goddess of Indian cooking…& as quick as an express. She cooks out of her lovely space in London, combining & frying spices to concoct up the perfect Indian meal. When I run out of dog-eared pages in my Indian recipe books, when I have exhausted all my known combinations, & when I am looking for fresh ideas, I turn to the ever dependable Mallika … & she never disappoints! This recipe from her blog is a wonderfully easy lamb dish, Gosht Kali Mirch / Spicy Lamb in Black Pepper that I cooked recently, twice, & I love the flavours that caress this curry. Generous lot of black pepper, & a squeeze of lime … can you smell the curry? Taking a cue off one of the posts in Quick Indian Cooking, I now find myself roasting & grinding fresh garam masala each time I need to use it. The flavours are fresh & exciting… & I love using my stone pestle & mortar.

I am sending in this lamb curry to Giz for her BloggerAid event; a small beginning to raise awareness for world hunger. A dish from my little corner of the world…This one’s for you Giz…thank you for hosting such a meaningful event. Learn more about Blogger Aid here, & also check out Giz’s event post here – BloggerAid:Because We Can Help; an event that has the specific theme of creating awareness about food hunger. Support BloggerAid by submitting a recipe that you would feed a hungry guest visiting your home during the holidays.

We are a growing group of international food bloggers determined to make a difference in aid of world famine. The love of food and community that brings us together drives the compassion of its members to reach out to our world to help those less fortunate than we are. Banded by a mission of helping to make a change in a world where starvation affects such a profound number of people, we will raise money and awareness for the hungry in communities both at home and abroad.

GOSHT KALI MIRCH / SPICY LAMB IN BLACK PEPPER
as adapted from Quick Indian Cooking
Ingredients:
Lamb – 800gm; shoulder;on the bone; diced
Tomatoes – 3 small; chopped
Onions – 3 medium; chopped
Yogurt – 3 tbsp
Black cardamoms – 2
Green cardamoms – 8
Cinnamon sticks – 2 x 2″
Cloves – 6
Whole black pepper – 2 tsp
Green chillies – 2 (deseed/omit them if you want the curry less hot)
Freshly ground black pepper – 2 tsp
Garlic – 4 cloves; grated
Garam masala – 1/2 tsp (I used 1 tsp freshly ground garam masala)
Fresh ginger – 3″piece; grated
Salt to taste
Oil – 3-5 tbsp

Method:

• In a large pot, bring the oil to heat over a high flame. When it’s hot, add all the whole spices. As they splutter, mix in the onion & fry till golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste & saute for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the lamb & roast till brown, followed by the yogurt & roast well.
• Then add in the tomatoes, chillies, black pepper and garam masala. Stir for two minutes and as the tomatoes disintegrate.
• Add some water, salt to taste and cover. Cook on a medium flame until the lamb is tender. (I cook it under pressure for 25 minutes).
• When it is tender, raise the heat and reduce the volume of liquid until the oil separates from the curry.
• Serve with a squirt of lime juice and chopped coriander, with naan or rice.

In Mallika’s words, the recipe is…”Not for the faint hearted or chili challenged mind you.” But I urge you to try this delicious curry, omit the green chillies ‘if you have to’, & enjoy the flavours! Or better still, come on over & I will stir up the curry for you…it’s finger-licking good! From what I gather from Mallika’s blog & the link on on it, this recipe is from the sister of a celebrity chef in the UK, Reza Mahammad, of the ‘Star of India’ restaurant fame. He is being touted as England’s freshest culinary talent, & has released his first book recently, ‘Rice, Spice & All Things Nice’.

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