Lamb & Potato Stew

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

Tanvi Srivastava

Slow cooked indian spiced lamb and potato stew with fresh pounded spices and yogurt.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Equipment

• Dutch Oven

Ingredients

  

For the Stew

• 1 lb stewing lamb
• 4 tablespoon 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
• ½ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder
• 2-3 small gold potatoes peeled
• ⅓ cup plain greek yogurt slightly beaten
• ½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• Salt to taste

Coarsely pound together

• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 twig mace
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 5 cloves

Instructions

 

• Add the coarsely pounded spices to a bowl. Add the hot and kashmiri red chilli powder. Pour ¼ 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 teaspoon 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 ¼ 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.

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