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5 stars (on a 5 star scale)
p. 70-71
Very good: well worth the significant preparation time. I used lamb cut from the shoulder. It ended up pretty tender. I had to de-bone the lamb myself, which was a bit of a hassle.
Although I had some trouble with the recipe, somehow everything worked out and we were all very pleased with the results.
First, my blender had trouble blending the ginger, garlic, and water because most of it ended up sinking below the blades. I kept having to push things around to get it to puree. The result was a mixture of liquid and pulp: not quite a paste.
Second, the onions took about twenty minutes before they began turning brown, not the five the recipe said ought to be necessary to get them medium-brown. After twenty minutes, though they were not really yet what I'd call medium-brown, I moved on.
Although the recipe suggests using paprika that is "fresh and has a good red color," the paprika I used was probably two years old and reddish-brown. Nonetheless, it seems things turned out all right.
After the period of covered simmering, the dish still had too much liquid. I boiled it more, uncovered, for about thirty minutes. It didn't end up as thick as I wanted, but I was hungry and stopped then. Next time, I'll simply add less liquid (than the 1.25 cups the recipe says). The juices must've congealed overnight, as the leftovers had the perfect consistency.
 - before simmering.jpg)
After mostly everything was done,
but before adding water and simmering for an hour.
 - after simmering.jpg)
After adding water and simmering for an hour.
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 - before simmering.jpg)
After mostly everything was done,
but before adding water and simmering for an hour. - after simmering.jpg)
After adding water and simmering for an hour.
8 comments:
Sounds delicious. I'm looking at cooking this for a family get together on the weekend- I'll be sure and watch the liquid. Just a thought- I find the same thing trying to make pastes in the food processor- I now use our handheld Braun to make pastes- you can get stuck into it a bit more.
Sounds fabulous! I, too, am cooking my way through Madhur Jaffrey's book. :-)
Sen says:
This is one of my favourite recipes and I make it frequently. Try frying the onions on a really high heat - if you've enough oil in the pan (which you have with this recipe) they won't burn but will add extra flavour. It's not a big deal about the perfecting the garlic-ginger paste: water is added so the garlic doesn't burn. You can just chop them up finely by hand and add a bit of water. For extra thickness I use a little less water and a little more yogurt than the recipe says.
I've had that happen more than once too - when the gravy is too thin when I serve but perfect for leftovers! I think this is a fact of life with Indian cooking.
I made this dish using tempeh and it was a disaster (I'm vegetarian so beef or lamb isn't an option). I think it had less to do with the recipe and more with the tempeh, which fell apart in the marinade. Next time I'll try it with seitan or quorn, which is tougher and will probably soak up this marinade much better.
Lamb can be quite expensive but you can buy bags of frozen lamb pieces for casseroles. Anyone tried that or know if it would work?
With most Indian recipes I find they suggest too much oil. For entrees in also fin that without fail they are always better a day or two after.
It's a good idea to cook ahead and then you can relax and make any adjustments on the day.
Get a mini processor for onion / ginger, you will find lots of other uses.
stewing lamb is fine, especially neck, messy though
I marinate the meat in yoghurt + ginger/ garlic. Try not frying the meat, all the lovely juices mingle with the sauce (same with stews)
Veggies, try tofu better yet, paneer
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