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Directions
This Indian dish is anything but understated. It piles flavour upon
flavour to stunning effect and would overwhelm milk-fed lamb.
Amazingly, for something so sumptuous, it is comparatively
nutritionally sound, as it has been modified to eliminate most
saturated fat. However it is not for the meal-in-a-moment cook.
Cover 45 g of raisins and 30 g sultanas in boiling water. Leave to
soak. Trim an 800 g boneless piece of young lamb (leg or shoulder) of
all visible fat. Put the piece in a large saucepan and add 3 cups of
water, a tablespoon of lemon juice and 2 bay leaves. Cover, bring to
the boil, skim, and simmer very gently for about one hour or until a
skewer glides into the meat with ease. Remove the meat, setting it
aside, and reduce the stock over high heat to about 1/4 of a cup.
Reserve the stock and wash the saucepan.
Into a processor bowl put 2 large onions quartered, 6 cloves of
garlic, 5 cm ginger roughly chopped, 1/2 tablespoon ground cardamom,
2 tablespoons ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 1
tablespoon white poppy seeds, 45 g ground almonds and 1 teaspoon
black pepper. Process to a paste. Chop finely a generous handful of
fresh mint and have ready 200 g plain yoghurt (low fat yoghurt can be
used).
Heat 2 tablespoons mono- or polyun- saturated oil in the saucepan, add
onion and spice paste and fry, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until
it is fragrant. Add the mint and yoghurt and simmer gently till the
sauce is thick and creamy. Return the meat to the saucepan, spooning
the sauce over it, cover and braise gently until the meat is heated
through. Add the reserved stock to the saucepan and stir through.
Continue to simmer uncovered until the stock is completely reduced.
Sprinkle over the meat and sauce 2 teaspoons garam masala, 1 teaspoon
chilli powder and salt to taste if you regard it as necessary.
In a frying pan, heat a little oil and gently fry the drained
sultanas and raisins, together with 45 g blanched slivered almonds,
for about 5 minutes. Add them to the saucepan and stir. Infuse a few
strands of saffron in a tablespoon of boiling water and add 1 1/2
teaspoons of rosewater. Stir this mixture into the saucepan and heat
for a minute or so more.
Slice the meat, which by now should be meltingly tender, and arrange
on a serving dish. Spoon the sauce over the meat. Serve with rice.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
From "Raw Materials" by Meryl Constance, The Syndey Morning Herald,
10/6/92. Courtesy Mark Herron.
Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; October 30 1992.
Servings: 4 servings
Braised Lamb With Fruits & Nuts Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fruit; Lamb; Meat; Nut
The History of Recipes
Food historians have tracked the existance of recipes way back into ancient history, in fact as far back into history as pharonic Egypt, and possibly even further. Interesting though that maybe, in the main part, these early cookbooks were just basic hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing food.
During Roman times around 25BC a man called Apicius created a collection of scripts showing how to cook the recipes enjoyed by the Romans. In his publication, he tells us how the roman meals were split into appetizers, main course and dessert, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. Additionally, he informs us how the chefs of Roman times were skilled in the use of many aromatic flavors, including some familiar names such as bay, rue and parsley. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods and spices from middle-east cuisine, including spices such as parsley, basil and rosemary. These new spices and herbs created an increase in manuscripts on food, the majority of which are now in academic collections. By the arrival of the 20th century, recipe books were greatly in demand as a result of higher levels of literacy, more spare time and disposable income. |
We hope you enjoy this Braised Lamb With Fruits & Nuts recipe.
