Lamb Biryani

This  wonderful dish is often served for a celebratory meal or for special occasions. The  main ingredient can be changed for chicken, vegetables or prawn. There are versions of it all over India and will more often than not use mutton. Most of the recipes call for a couple of large pieces of meat or chicken, but I prefer a lot of smaller pieces.
The central ingredient is always rice and the spices and of course the fresh flavour of coriander.
It does take awhile to make, however after visiting southern India I am a convert to the pressure cooker for the lamb dish.
Every cooking class we had, pressure cookers of varying sizes were used. This makes sense when you are cooking many dishes as it cuts the time down by half. I do own a pressure cooker but as we are all guilty of, it it sits in the cupboard and you can forget you have it. Well it has been getting a lot of use lately. You don't have to run out and buy one you can also use a large pot with a tight fitting lid.
The recipe does take time so do it when you have a day at home and want to cook something special for the family or friends. All the work is done ! Perfect in this horrible weather



1 1/2 cups basmati rice
4 cardamon pods
1 piece of cinnamon about 2 inches 5 cmd long
6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 kilo diced lamb shoulder
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
2 teaspoons red chilli powder more if you like it hot or fresh chilli
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 cup yoghurt
1/2 cup of coriander
1/2 cup chopped mint
2 large brown onions thinly sliced
6 tomatoes chopped ( or approx 1 can of tomatoes )
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil

Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes
The cook for 5-6 minutes only and set aside.

Heat some of the oil in a heavy pot and cook the onions until brown and caramelised approx 15 minutes. Be carful not to let it burn. Set aside.

In the same pot heat some more of the oil and when hot add the cinnamon stick, cardamon pods and peppercorns. Cook for 30 seconds then add the bay leaf  and stir through. Next add the spices, garlic ginger, turmeric and garam masala and lastly the tomato . Continue to cook scraping the pan and try not to let it burn.
Add the lamb pieces and sauté for 2-3 minutes until meat has browned slightly.  Add only 1/4 of the onion and half the chopped coriander  with 2 1/2 cups water and some salt.
Cover and bring to the boil and cook for 40 minutes or until lamb is nearly cooked. It will be 10-12 minutes if you have a pressure cooker with 2 cups water.

If using a saucepan you may want to stir the lamb from time to time to stop it catching. Add some of the yoghurt after cooking and stir through.

For the final stage pour the remainder of the oil into a large pan with a lid. Spread a little less than half the rice on the bottom of the pan, then a layer of the fried onion, then the lamb mixture on top. Layer with more rice reserving a little for the top, fried onion and then the lamb mixture and the little remaining rice on top. Drizzle a little oil over the top and cover the pan tightly. Simmer on a very low heat for 15 minutes.

When you turn out the dish onto a platter the rice and lamb will combine. Garnish with mint and coriander. Serve with yoghurt or a yoghurt raita ( with cucumber )

Lamb Korma

The winter weather has arrived with full force this year and the temperatures have been the coldest I can remember  in years.
One tends to think of  hearty dishes to warm you up. Casseroles, stews, braises, curries and roasts come to mind. My go to dish for winter is a Lamb Korma easy for me because I have been making it forever. The heat is determined by you, so it is a great dish for all the family. A little bit of India.
Yes you can buy a jar of curry paste at the supermarket but the ingredients are all readily available and the taste is far superior if made from scratch. Once you have the spices you can churn it out as a regular winter meal.
Better made the day before, easily transportable and adaptable for the freezer. Serve it with a delicious chutney, yoghurt and poppadoms.
You can buy lamb already diced, but I buy small half legs and cut them myself into cubes.

approx 11/2 kilos lamb diced
2 medium onions
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon freshly chopped ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoon ground coriander
raw almonds or cashews approx 1/2 cup
6 red chillies deseeded ( if you wish it be be not as hot add 2 at this point )
1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder ( again omit if you want it milder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 teaspoons salt
1 cup yoghurt
3 tablespoons oil
handful of chopped coriander leaves

Cut the lamb into cubes removing all the fat.
Place the onions, garlic, ginger, chillies and nuts into the food processor. Blend and then add half a cup of water and blend again. Add all the spices. This is your curry paste and should be as smooth as possible
Heat the oil in a large pot and add the blender contents. Cook until aromatic a couple of minutes and the oil is separating. Add another  1/2 cup of water to the blender and wash out the remainder of the paste and add the water to the pot. Cook a little longer.
Add the lamb slowly, a bit at a time until the meat is coated with the spice mixture and fry until it changes colour.
Add the salt and yoghurt and mix in evenly. Cover  and turn down simmering for 1 hour or until lamb is cooked.
Stir through fresh coriander in the last 5 minutes saving some for a garnish. Serve with rice and all the condiments.

Gingerbread Christmas Biscuits

I just love all the delectable food items on sale at Christmas time. Does it allow one to indulge, just because its Xmas ?
I can't answer that question for all of you,  but for me its a good excuse .
There are so many tempting delights in the shops. Panforte, chocolates, rum balls, muscatels, little biscuits in a variety of Christmas shapes, glace fruit, puddings of all sorts and everything is packaged so beautifully to entice the purchaser.
Jacqui and I have just done our annual day chopping and marinading for the Christmas cakes.
I have made some tomato relish and hope to do some chutney, given the time.
I love a gingerbread cookie and although readily available, often at great expense, I decided to make some myself, this year. Sprinkle with icing sugar or ice and decorate.
Not having a Christmas tree cookie cutter on hand, I used a star instead. Of course you can use a gingerbread man, heart or any shape you desire.
These are a lovely fun thing to make with small children.

125 grams butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup golden syrup
1 egg
3 cups plain flour
1/2 cup self raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
11/2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 175C
Place the butter and the brown sugar into a saucepan on the stovetop and melt, making sure the sugar is  totally dissolved. Put aside to cool slightly.
In a large bowl mix the egg and golden syrup into the melted butter mixture .
Sift the flour, bicarb and spices into the butter mixture to form a dough. If you feel you need to add a little extra flour do so at this point but gradually. The mixture needs to sit for an hour before using.
Place a piece of baking paper over the dough and roll to approx 5 cm thick and cut into your desired shape.
Place on baking paper lined trays into the oven for about 10 mins.
When cool sprinkle with icing sugar, or make an icing using just icing sugar and a little milk so it is slightly runny and easy to use.

                               
           

Festive Yellow Sri Lankan Rice

Everyone seems to be a little scared of cooking rice. If we do it the old fashioned way in a pot of boiling water, it must be watched. Overcooked rice is really not good. I have many memories of soggy rice from my childhood. Of course now lots of people have rice cookers and microwave rice cookers.
I personally don't have either, but always do it in the microwave, in a casserole dish that can go to the table. A never fail method and if you get distracted it doesn't matter cause it turns itself off.
The water must only come to the joint of your thumb over the rice. This usually means if you have a cup of rice its a cup and half of water, 2 cups of rice 2 and half cups of water.
Place into the microwave for 10 minutes on high, beautiful rice very time. Give it a go.
The other method is the absorption method which many people swear by and its pretty good too.
This is how I cooked this rice, a delicious delicately spiced alternative to plain rice when serving curries. You could add some chopped chicken into it whilst cooking for a complete meal, and toss through some sultanas and toasted almonds at the end just before serving. Serve it with some lamb cutlets or sausages with a salsa for a family meal.
This is probably not the exact method all Sri Lankans use but like all cooks everyone has their own slant on it.

2 cups basmati rice washed and drained thoroughly
Rylstone Olive Oil
1 onion finely sliced
6 cardamon pods
6  black peppercorns
2 cloves
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
2 curry leaves
2 teaspoons salt
375 ml  Carnation light and creamy coconut flavoured evaporated milk which has 92% less saturated fat. Alternatively you can use coconut milk.
1 1/2 cups water

In a large pot with a tight fitting lid, cook the sliced onions in a good splash of olive oil. Cook them until they change colour slightly. Then add cardamon pods, peppercorns, cloves, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fry for a minute mixing through the onion.
Add some more oil at this stage if your pot is too dry. Add the rice, turmeric salt and curry leaves and fry in the oil coating the rice and spices. Finally add the coconut milk and water and bring to the boil.
Then turn it down to very low and put the lid on tightly. If you feel the lid isn't as tight a it should be put some foil over the top and press down at the sides to stop any air escaping.
Cook for 15 minutes use a timer and don't peek, no lid lifting required !
Take off heat immediately cooked and fork through. Beautiful fluffy spiced rice.

Vegetable Curry

This is the curry I served with the Indian Roast Lamb. I thought I should share it with you. It is a delightful dish full of vegetables and flavour.
You can change the vegetables depending on what is in season or what you have available at home.
It is also a great vegetarian dish served with some basmati rice, yoghurt, chutney and some naan bread if you desire.

2 medium onions chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 inch piece of ginger or approx 100 grams peeled and chopped
2  green chillies  ( you can increase or decrease this amount depending on your tastes )
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek 
2 tablespoons lemon juice
black pepper approx 1/4 teaspoon
4 potatoes peeled and cubed
3 carrots peeled sliced and cut in half if large carrots
1 parsnip peeled sliced and cut in half for larger slices
2 large zucchini sliced into chunky slices and cut in half
you may use any of the following vegetables as well
green beans chopped in half 1 cup OR 1-2 cups broccoli flowers OR 3/4 cup green peas
1 can of chopped tomatoes approx 400 grams
salt teaspoon

Heat the oil in a large pan. I use a wok over a gas flame.
Add the onions, ginger, garlic and chillies and fry until onions are soft and starting to colour.
Meanwhile combine the spices, turmeric, paprika, coriander, fenugreek and pepper with the lemon juice and a little water. Add to the pan and fry with the onion mixture, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Add extra water if it gets too dry.
Add the chopped vegetables to the pan and fry in the spices for a couple of minutes until totally coated.
Add the tomatoes and salt and cover the pan. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 25 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Check occasionally and stir gently to make sure the vegetables aren't sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Transfer to a serving dish

Raan Indian Roast Lamb Marinated in Spiced Yoghurt

I have just had a couple of relaxing days in the Southern Highlands with seven girlfriends for our annual sewing sojourn! Yes, sewing, quilting mainly with a bit of knitting thrown in. Whilst I may not have been blogging, I certainly ate very well. All of these girls are great cooks and we dined on Hungarian Goulash, Jamie's Fragrant Chicken, Smoked Trout and Fennel Lasagna, Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon, Sauteed Mushrooms on Sourdough, Simone Logue's Little Pies and of course lots of chocolates and alcohol.
I only thought of this dish after the event, but it would have been a great one to do as it takes 48 hours of marinating and then cooks for 5 hours. Perfect whilst you do other things, like sewing !
Don't be put off by the list of ingredients or cooking time. It is actually very easy! If you like Indian food then this makes a nice change to a curry, and great for a number of people.

1 leg of lamb 2-3 kilos
1 piece fresh ginger peeled approx 100 grams 
8 garlic cloves peeled
thinly pared rind of a lemon
5 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon of cardamon seeds
6 whole cloves
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon minced chilli, from a jar or 1 fresh red chilli
1 cup almond meal
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/4 cups of plain yoghurt
1/2 tablespoon salt


Prick the lamb all over with a fork and make deep gashes in the meat and set aside, in a pan.
I use a Tupperware marinating covered container, but you could also use the baking dish in which you are going to roast the lamb, for the marinating part of the dish. Use foil, if the dish doesn't have a lid.
Put ginger, garlic, lemon rind and juice, cumin seeds, cardamon, cloves, turmeric, chilli and salt into a food processor and blend to a puree.
Scrape out and spread the lamb all over with the puree and set aside for an hour.
Mix the almond meal and brown sugar with the yoghurt.
Spread this mixture all over the spice mixture on the lamb and set aside in a covered pan in the refrigerator for 48 hours.
Remove the dish from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before cooking.
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Place the pan in the oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 180 and roast for a further hour.
Then cover the dish, reduce the heat to 160C and roast for a further 4 hours, basting occasionally.
These temperatures may vary in different ovens, if your oven is very hot adjust accordingly.
You may also find the marinade is catching and burning on the bottom of the pan, remove any burnt bits and cover earlier if you find this is happening too early in the process.

Serve with basmati rice and a vegetable curry, with some yoghurt and Baxter's Mango Chutney as an accompaniment.