Recipe - Dhana Ghosht

1 One half pound Stewing lamb, trimmed
of fat and minced
2 cup Yogurt (fullfat),
natural
6 Garlic cloves, crushed
4 teaspoon Coriander, ground
2 Lila murcha, (fresh
green chili peppers),
crushed
4 teaspoon Paprika
4 teaspoon Salt (or less)
3 teaspoon Ginger, coarsely crushed
4 tablespoon Cooking oil
(mustard oil is best)
2 md Onions (or more
to taste)
3 teaspoon Cumin seeds
1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
2 teaspoon Black mustard seed
2 teaspoon Red chili powder
(also called cayenne
pepper or lal mirch)
4 ounce Coriander, fresh

Dice the meat into bitesize cubes and soak in warm water for 23 minutes.

Mix the paprika, ground coriander, salt, crushed garlic and crushed green
chilies with yogurt. Drain the lamb and add to the yogurt marinade. Leave
to marinate for at least six hours. Ideally it should marinate in the
refrigerator for 24 hours.

Dice the onions into thin semicircles. In a large saucepan or a generous
fryingpan, heat the cooking oil over a high flame. Add the onions when
the oil is hot enough to "steam." Reduce the heat to medium and stir
occasionally. Fry the onions until they change colour to a deep red/brown.
This should take 10 to 15 minutes.

At this point add the black mustard seeds and stir a few times. Then add
the ginger, cumin seeds, red chilies and turmeric powder. Increase the heat
and fry this "masala" for a couple of minutes. Add the marinated lamb to
the masala and mix well.

At this point you have two options, either to cook the meat on the stove or
to bake it. Stovetop cooking takes less time but requires fairly constant
stirring. It should be cooked in a covered saucepan on a low to medium
flame for about 45 minutes. Add water if the sauce gets too dry and begins
to stick. For baking, transfer it to an ovenproof casserole, cover it, and
bake for 1 One half hours at 200 degrees F. Check occasionally, though you are
unlikely to need to add any water to the sauce.

Finally, prepare and wash the fresh coriander in cold water. Only the
leaves and the tender stems should be retained. Chop coarsely and mix well
just before serving. If you don't have any fresh coriander, then mix in
about 23 t of coriander powder. Serve with well buttered (boiled) rice or
pita bread and fresh salad.

NOTES:

* A popular North Indian lamb dish with coriander This is a family
variation on a popular North Indian dish. I cook it whenever I could get
hold of fresh coriander, which in Edinburgh is seldom.

I don't know its authentic Indian name. We simply call it "dhana lamb" as
that's how its always cooked at home. Dhana means "coriander" in Gujarati.
Yield: Serves 34.

* Take care not to burn the onions and don't overcook the masala just
before mixing in the marinated meat.

* I think the dish tastes a lot better if it is baked. It's even better if
cooked for a longer period at a lower temperature.

: Difficulty: easy to moderate.
: Time: 15 minutes preparation, 1 day marinating, 2 One half hours cooking.
: Precision: approximate measurement OK.

Mukesh J Patel
: University of Edinburgh, Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh,
Scotland
: seismo!ukc!cstvax!epistemi!mukesh
: mukesh@uk.ac.ed.epistemi

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