Meat and Potatoes. The universal comfort food. A ritual in my kitchen in the midst of cruel winters especially on days when the chilly winds clatter against the window panes, its grey and cloudy outside and inside my kitchen, meat is slow cooked long enough till it almost falls off the bone, the potatoes absorb all the flavor and the aroma of the spices permeates the atmosphere of house. A dish which evokes nostalgia of my mom’s mutton stew and of our first few years in the States.
My first tasting of lamb came in one of the ornate buffets here in Las Vegas in a mellow stew- crimson colored, cooked with carrots, speckled with herbs & tasting strongly of red wine. Since we do not consume a lot of lamb in India (mutton is more popular), we had only been roasting lamb rack ocassionally, completely oblivious of the fact how this meat would behave with spices. The tasting presented an opportunity to try it in my mum’s mutton & new potato slow cooked stouu , one in which the meat is first seared and then cooked for long good hours, often pushing lunch to evening tea time.
There is little match to the slow cooking method, for the meat slowly gives in to heat, the gelatinous flavor of the bone melts in the sauce lending it an unmatched edge over the rushed one.The key is to start ahead, much before meal time so that the stew does not miss a chance to rest for a couple of hours before serving. This stew is comforting, deeply flavorful & delicious with a earthly taste of starchy potatoes. You should give this a try before the winters go away!
Lamb & Potato Stew
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
For the Stew
- 1 lb stewing lamb
- 4 tbsp mustard oil , substitute with cooking oil that you like to use
- 1 whole black cardamom
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
- Pinch sugar
- 1 cup onions thinly sliced
- 8 garlic cloves
- 2 inch fresh ginger
- 2 tsp hot red chilli powder adjust to tolerance
- 1/2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 2-3 small gold potatoes peeled
- 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt slightly beaten
- 1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
- Salt to taste
Coarsely pound together
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 twig mace
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 5 cloves
Instructions
- Add the coarsely pounded spices to a bowl. Add the hot and kashmiri red chilli powder. Pour 1/4 cup of warm water, mix the spices into a paste and set aside.
- In your dutch oven or any heavy bottom pot with lid, add the oil and let warm up for a few minutes until slightly smoky.
- Add the black cardamom, cinnamom stick and bayleaf to the oil and saute for 10-15 seconds taking care not to burn the spices.
- Next, add the sliced onions, sprinkle a pinch of sugar and let the onions brown. Keep on cooking them with stirring in between for 7-8 minutes till the onions are dark brown. This is important for color of the stew.
- Once the onions are browned, add the lamb to the pot. Cook the lamb on medium low heat with onions for 8-9 minutes stirring continously untill you see that the lamb is browned on all sides and the edges are starting to turn dark brown.
- Add the spice paste next, sprinkle 1 tsp of salt and mix well till the lamb pieces are covered in spices. Let the spices cook with lamb and onions for good 5 minutes. Make sure that they are not sticking to bottom. If you feel so, add a tablespoon or two of water.
- Slowly you will see that the lamb will release its water and the contents of the pot will be slightly watery. Add 1/4 cup of hot water at this stage and cover the dutch oven.
- Let the lamb slow cook for a low stove 2-3 hours(time depends on how big or small your pieces are as well as the quality of your meat). You will need to check time to time to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom, if so, add a splash of water.
- Once the lamb is 90 percent cooked, keeping heat low, add the beaten yogurt and mix well rigrously else the yogurt will curdle. Saute the lamb with yogurt for 5-10 minutes untill you see oil bubbles on the sides of the pot. Check and adjust the salt at this stage. At this stage, lamb will be 95 percent cooked.
- Add the potatoes to the pot, mix and cover the lid again.Let potatoes cook for 5-8 minutes or untill fork tender.
- Once the meat and potatoes are done, take off the stove. Add nutmeg and gently mix everything well.
- Let the stew rest for 2 hours before serving.
Love anything with potatoes in it! This stew sounds delicious.
Thank you 🙂
What a super idea to ‘slow cook’ in the oven? Looks just delicious–must try. Happy New Year.
Happy New Year to you too!
Extremely satisfying and ever so comforting. A beautiful lamb stew.
Happy New Year and best wishes for 2015!
Cheers,
Rosa
Happy New Year to you too, friend!
Gorgeous and comforting! Just perfect for cold weather!
Thanks
Look so delicious! would love to try soon but we don’t take lamb so perhaps I can try with some chicken instead? 🙂
Yes but use bone in dark meat chicken portions (thigh,drumsticks) and adjust the cooking time coz chicken will cook quickly
Tanvi, thanks! will try soon with dark meat 🙂
I have never attempted slow cooking any kind of red meat. But your description of how it makes the meat fall off the bones has me drooling. I just must give slow cooking a try!
this is gorgeous – great photos 🙂
Bernice
Bernice Griffiths F O O D I E , V I S I O N A R Y , H E A L T H & W E L L N E S S , O N L I N E M E D I A MY BLOG: http://www.bettybake.co.zaFacebook Twitter See more about me here
Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2015 16:10:15 +0000 To: thegoldfishstudio@hotmail.com
Wow! Now this is my idea of ‘meat and potatoes’! Lamb is one of my favorite proteins and I absolutely love all of the warm spices in this dish!
This lamb and potato stew just looks so incredibly flavoursome, comforting and delicious. It is ALL I am craving right now.. and so beautifully captured too!
Thank you!
I totally agree with you on the slow cooking method. My family enjoy any kind of meat curry, all they want is, it has to be spicy. So, this one is sure something we all will enjoy. Will try this out soon. Thanks for sharing.
Lamb is so underused in my part of the world—the Pacific NW. I had it regularly growing up on a farm.
This is a wonderful stew with a different flavor hit using lamb instead of the more traditional beef.
What a beautiful looking dish. My husband would love this.
Pinned!
Nice dish,will give it a try.
I love mutton curries …yet to get good lamb in India…but my mutton curry is cooked almost the same way u did yours..family recipe seldom fails right?? Loved the pics!