Bhuna lamb & some food rants :)

Lamb Bhuna

Essentially of the Hyderabadi or Awadhi cooking traditions; Bhuna Gosht literally means braised meat combined with dry roasted spices (sometimes combined with yogurt) and cooked in its own juices and therefore, the richness and the depth of colour and flavours.

Normally, I would use mutton (on the bones); however, I have (yet once again) done with what I have. I have also tweaked on the spices keeping the flavours mild and clean. Lamb unlike mutton cooks faster; thereby letting the spices retain its more of their wonderful flavours then in a mutton dish, where (because of a longer cooking time) the meat more or less absorbs most of flavours from the spices used. To expedite the cooking process while using mutton, traditionally, a raw papaya paste is used for marinating the meat. It’s a natural meat tenderiser and also adds to the sauce base.

Now, without much ado; let’s crack with the ingredients:

Serves 3

Lamb chops                  6 (on the bone)

Oil                                  1 tsp for braising the meat + 1 tbsp for cooking

Onion                            150 grams, minced

Ginger paste                  1 tsp

Garlic paste                   1 tsp

Garlic, finely chopped  1 tsp

Tomatoes, medium      3 (blanched, skinned, deseeded, minced)

Yoghurt                         5 Tbsp (preferably sour)

Mint                              3 leaves

Fresh Coriander            2 tbsp

Salt                                for seasoning

Turmeric powder         ¼ tsp

Whole spices:

Green Cardamom         2

Cloves                           4

Cinnamon                     2 inch stick

Whole cumin seeds      1 tbsp

Whole coriander  seeds ½ tbsp

Fennel seeds                 1 tsp (optional)

Ajwain seeds                ¼ tsp (optional)

Red chilli flakes             ½ tsp (adjust to taste)

Nutmeg                         ¼ tsp

Whole black pepper     5

Method:

Wash and pat dry the lamb chops. Sprinkle some salt and turmeric powder and massage in well. Keep aside.

In the mean time, dry roast the whole spices. Set a flat pan/skillet on medium heat. Add all the dry spices except the chilli flakes. Keep sautéing until flavours emerge. Make sure the spices do not burn. Keeping the heat low, sauté until the spices are crisp enough to be grinded. Take it off the heat. Add the chilli flakes, mix and let the spices cool. (Traditionally, whole red chillies are used. They are roasted together with the spices). Dry grind them (I am using a mortar & pestle… love spices when they are coarse… could never reach the same consistency in a spice grinder). Once ground, I add a tablespoon of water. The reason I do this is because I don’t want the powder to hit a hot pan instantly when added. We have already dry roasted them; we don’t want any burnt hint. This process when well done; will lend bagful of flavours…mainly an amazing smoky hint and a deeper brown tinge to the dish.

Add a tsp of oil in a wok or open mouthed pan on high heat. Braise the lamb chops (do not overcrowd; do in batches if required) 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Transfer into a dish and keep warm.

In the same pan; add the remaining oil and tip in the minced onion. Let them brown. Keep the onions moving in the pan for an even golden brown colour

Next up, bring in the tomatoes. Give it a nice mix again and cook until oil separates. (I've blanched my tomatoes, de-skinned and de-seeded before mincing them. I mash few bits here and there to get a sauce like consistency. This process is not necessary; however, I do this to get a deeper colour)

Add the minced garlic and the ginger-galic paste. Give it a quick mix and then add in the ground spices. Lower the heat at this point and continue mixing all the ingredients for a couple of more minutes. 

Lightly beat the yoghurt and tip it in, giving everything a nice mix. Keep sautéing. In a few minutes, the oil will separate from this spicy mix and you know that it’s time for the meat to come in. 

Place the meat in the wok. Keeping the flame to a low medium; gently amalgamate the ingredients ensuring the meat is well coated with the spice. Season with salt. Mix around for a couple of minutes and cover. Cook until done. Do not add water; if at all its getting all dry, use a teaspoon of yoghurt. 

The end product should be soft and succulent meat just about coated with the spice mix. Garnish with fresh mint and coriander.

I am serving mine with steamed mangetout and rice. 

 Hope you like this one… and many thanks for all your comments and emails. I love reading and replying all the nice things you folks write aboutJ. And yes, Niel, the pictures are all mine… I am glad you find the food tempting. That’s the thing about food: I am not saying you have to go all gaga about the presentation; but then one does eat with his/her eyes first! But I must add I have a thing against pretentious plate do up’s. I’ll tell you what happened recently… you know this whole thing about food looking ultra chick (well, rustic is also chic these days) & brilliant; how far do you go? (I’ll give you a hint of what I mean: mango flowers as a prop on my plate in one of London’s posh Indian restaurants… For what? Why put it there, when you can’t eat it! ‘K’ says it’s for the aesthetic quotient. That’s right; I understand: but why not something edible or functional... pea shoots would have done the job! […. I mean food rants could have gone on that evening but then the gorgeous dessert arrived])… Just for records: I don’t Photoshop my pictures…. I do adjust lightings (when shooting in poor conditions) and I do add hues and saturations. That’s about it. The food looks like it really looks. Plus, I have got a decent camera now (point & shoot bridge camera. Always looks at the food the way I do J.