By Fatima Saib @fatimasaib
This recipe is an extract from THE HUNGRY TABLE, published by Penguin Random House SA.
METHOD
Ingredients
Instructions
1. Peel the baby potatoes and soak them in a bowl of salted water for 30 minutes – ¾ teaspoon salt should be sufficient here. Then, bring a pot with enough vegetable oil to shallow-fry up to the heat. Drain the baby potatoes, pat dry with paper towel, then fry in the oil, whole, until lightly golden-brown. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain and set aside until needed.
2. Rinse the rice under tap water until the water runs clear. Add the rice to a bowl, cover with 2 cups of cold water and soak for at least 35 minutes. Then, drain the rice and add it to a pot with 2 cups of water and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes, or until the water has evaporated and the rice is cooked, but not soft and mushy. It should still have a slight bite to it. Drain.
3. To make the base, heat a 24cm ovenproof pot with a lid over low-medium heat. Add the oil, ghee, onion, green and black cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Fry gently until the onion is golden, about 25 minutes, stirring every 5 or so minutes so the onions don’t burn.
4. To make the lamb curry, add the lamb pieces to the base ingredients in the pot and cook each side until slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Once the meat has browned, add the garlic and ginger paste, turmeric paste, chilli powder, garam masala, ground cumin, ground coriander and salt. Stir well, then mix in the yoghurt. Cook for 5 minutes, until you see the oil separate from the yoghurt. Add the water, liquidised tomatoes and fried potatoes, and stir gently to combine, making sure you don’t disturb the potatoes too much. Cook all together for 25 minutes, stirring regularly to ensure the sauce does not catch at the bottom of the pot without breaking the potatoes.
5. After 25 minutes, stir in ½ cup of the fried onions and continue cooking for a further 20 minutes, until reduced and thickened.
6. Place a clean muslin cloth over the now reduced curry and spoon the cooked rice over the cloth. This ensures that the rice won’t get soggy or absorb the curry, making it easier to dish and serve. Break the butter up with your fingers and scatter it over the rice. Pour over the saffron water. Scatter over the remaining fried onions along with the fresh coriander. Cover the rice with any overhanging muslin, then cover the pot with its lid.
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C and place the pot in the oven for 20 minutes to steam and finish cooking.