Bhoona Gosht

JustJanS's Note:

One of our favourite lamb curries, from a book Indian Cooking. You need to take care with the heat at particular stages to achieve the right finished dish. Looks fiddly, and it may be but it's worth it.

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 ¼ lbs leg of lamb
• 5 tablespoons cooking oil (I reduce this by about half, and watch the pan carefully)
• 3 large onions , finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic , peeled and crushed
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• ½-1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 7 fluid ounces water
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt , to taste
• 2 medium tomatoes , skinned and chopped (tinned tomatoes can be and are used)
• 4 -5 whole fresh green chilies (seeds removed or less chillies for a milder curry)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 small ripe Italian tomatoes , sliced

Directions:

1. Trim the fat from the meat and cut into 1-inch cubes.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat and fry the onions, ginger and garlic until the onions are just soft (about 5 minutes).
3. Lower the heat and add the turmeric, cumin, coriander and red chilli powder.
4. Stir and fry for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the meat and turn the heat to medium.
6. Fry for 5 minutes stirring frequently.
7. Cover the pan and cook on medium heat until all the liquid dries out.
8. Turn the heat to high and fry the meat for 2-3 minutes continuously.
9. Reduce the heat to medium and fry for a further 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently.
10. By now the meat should look fairly dry and the fat should be floating on the surface.
11. Some of the fat can be drained off at this stage, but be careful not to drain off any spices.
12. Add the water and salt and bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until the meat is tender.
13. Add more water if necessary.
14. At the end of the cooking time, the thick spice paste should be clinging to the meat.
15. Add the chopped tomatoes and the green chillies.
16. Stir and fry for 3-4 minutes.
17. Stir in the garam masala and half the cilantro leaves and remove from heat.
18. Put the bhoona gosht into a serving dish and arrange the sliced tomatoes round the meat.
19. Sprinkle the remaining cilantro on top.

Reviews

[girish nair]

though not the easiest dish to make it is very tasty and suits the indian palate very well. a few of my canadian friends loved the bhoona gosht that i prepared for them. excellent recipe and my daughter and wife will vouch for it too!- girish.

[Charishma_Ramchandani]

I made this for lunch this afternoon and bro- a non-veg. lover, loved it. Mom enjoyed it as well. I used a 1kg 500gms chicken and increased the quantity of all the ingredients proportionately. They enjoyed it with hot rotis and bread. Thanks so much for sharing!

[Lorac]

A sumptuous lamb dish with a luscious presentation. Perfectly balanced ingredients, enhanced by a slow cooking reduction and freshened with tomatoes and herbs. I left out the fresh chili peppers in deference to DH's hot spice intolerence and substituted fresh parsley because I am not fond of fresh cilantro. Jan S, my "Lamb Guru", you have out done yourself with this 10 star dish!