Ingredients:
- 700g/1.5lbs casserole lamb (neck fillet or shoulder)
- 250g lamb bones for adding flavour (optional)
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- Salt to taste – about 1 and a half tsp
- Half to 1 tsp red chilli powder (depending on how hot it is, ours is mega-spicy)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 100ml ful fat yogurt
- 2 onions, chopped
- 50ml oil/ghee
- 4 cloves
- 4 green cardamoms
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 blade of mace (or a good grating of nutmeg if you can’t get mace)
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, ground
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- Half tsp turmeric
Method:
Cut the lamb into large chunks. Boil the lamb with the bones and garlic and about half of the salt in 2 pints (1.2 litres) of water in a cooking pot for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove the meat and set aside. Skim off the scum, strain and reserve the cooking liquid.
Make a paste with the chilli powder and paprika by adding a little water. Set aside.
Fry the onions in the oil or ghee until lightly browned – about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon, and mace/nutmeg and fry for 1 minute. Then add the coriander, fennel, ginger and turmeric, the chilli paste and 2 tbsp water and stir continuously.
After 2 minutes, add the meat. Fry for about 5 minutes. Lower the heat and add the yogurt. Stir well and fry for a few minutes. Add the rest of the salt and 800ml water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 2 hours until the meat is tender. Check for seasoning during cooking – add more salt if required.
Before serving, remove the whole spices