Recipe:
Bohri Lamb Kaari
serves:
5
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil
Cinnamon
Cloves
Black peppercorn
Curry leaves
Onion, finely chopped
Potatoes, cut into 2’’ cubes
Tamarind pulp, golf-ball sized
Lamb, cut into 2’’ chunks
Turmeric powder
Green chilies, slit
Coconut milk
Salt
Garam masala powder
Coriander leaves, finely chopped
Mint, fresh, finely chopped
Garnish: fresh red chilies sliced
For the Kaari powder:
Peanuts, raw, skin removed
Almonds
Cashews
Chana daal
Sesame seeds
Coriander seeds
Cumin seeds
Red chilies, dried
Desiccated coconut
3 to 4 tsp.
2 sticks
6
7 to 8
15 to 20
1
2 to 3
1
1 kg.
½ tsp.
2
400 ml.
To taste
½ tsp.
½ cup
3 to 4 tbsp.
1 ½ tbsp.
12
10
1 ½ tsp.
2 tsp.
5 tsp.
2 ½ tsp.
10
7 tsp.
Method:
1. Put a flat griddle onto the stove to heat at medium. When hot, add the peanuts, almonds, cashews, chana daal, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, dried red chilies, and desiccated coconut. Use a spoon to stir frequently and dry roast all the ingredients together until they begin to turn very slightly darker and aromatic. Move them onto a plate and spread them out to cool.
2. When they have cooled, use a food processor or clean, dry coffee grinder to grind the roasted ingredients into a fine powder. Keep aside.
3. Soak the tamarind pulp in about 1/3 cup of hot water and let sit for a while.
4. Take a deep pot (preferably a heavy-bottomed one) and set it up to heat on medium heat. When hot, add the vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add the cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, and curry leaves and sauté for 30 seconds. They will turn darker and aromatic. Add the chopped onions and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes stirring often.
5. Add the potatoes and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Add the meat pieces and stir-fry until browned. Remove the potatoes using a slotted spoon and keep aside; potatoes cook faster than the meat and removing them helps prevent them from getting overcooked.
7. Add 500 ml of hot water to the pot and cover. Simmer the heat and cook for 30 minutes.
8. Open the cover and add the potatoes back to the pot and add the kaari masala powder you made earlier and the turmeric powder. Add the tamarind pulp, strained through a sieve, to the pot. Stir to mix everything thoroughly. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
9. Open the pot again and add the coconut milk and stir through. Cook for another 15 minutes then turn off the heat.
10. Just after you turn off the heat, open the lid, add the chopped coriander and mint leaves, and sprinkle the garam masala powder over the pot. Stir and cover till ready to serve. You can also garnish with sliced red chilies.