This is an exotic and very succulent lamp chop curry made with yogurt, saffron and special blend of aromatic spices. This scrumptious lamb curry recipe has become a recent favourite as the meat is so tender and its rich fragrant flavours just burst in your mouth.
Generally lamb dishes are something which we don’t cook very often in our family, especially the curries...usually we love kebabs and burgers etc. made with mince... I was watching the masterclass of chef Ranveer Brar where he was making the recipe of lamb shank and that totally inspired me to make this beautiful lamb chop curry in a rich comforting gravy. I paired it with my newfound love of Khoba roti (a bread which is a delicacy of royal Rajasthan).
Now this curry is a must try, super simple to make but you need to be bit patient while you wait for the meat to tenderise overnight in marination. My husband, who is a bit skeptical about lamb curries, just fell in love with it instantly. I didn’t have to put in that extra effort of my convincing bone to make him eat this super succulent lamb dish. In fact I packed it for his office lunch also and he was very happy to take without any second thoughts about it.
SERVES: 4
PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOKING TIME: 45 minutes
PASSIVE TIME: 12-24 hours
INGREDIENTS
600g lamb chops
2 shavings of green papaya skin, 4”x1” long each
2 Green chilli
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2” piece ginger, roughly chopped
2 tbsp ghee
12-15 black peppercorns
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp galouti kebab masala (follow the link for full recipe of galouti masala)
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 cup roasted cashews
1 tsp degi mirch (Kashmiri red chilli powder)
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 pinch saffron
3-4 drops kewra essence
Salt to taste
1 tbsp chicken stock powder/lamb stock powder
2 cups water
METHOD
Wash and pat dry the lamb chops and keep aside.
In an electric blender, grind papaya, garlic, ginger, green chilli and little oil, make it into fine paste and marinade the lamb chops with the mixture coating well on both sides.
Cover and refrigerate to marinate overnight.
Heat ghee in a large saucepan over a medium low-heat.
Add black peppercorns and marinated chops in the ghee and sear it on both the sides on medium-high heat about 8-10 minutes turning the sides in between.
Now add sliced onions and let them cook while the meat is getting seared. After 2 minutes, reduce the heat and remove the seared lamb chops on a plate and let the onions roast bit more until dark brown in colour.
Add galouti kebab masala, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt, sauté for few seconds and add, whisked yogurt to the onions. Mix them all together stirring constantly.
In an grinder, grind cashew nuts to a smooth paste adding little water and add it to onion masala. Stir them all together and cook for 2 minutes until oil separates from the masala.
Now add the lamb chops back to the onion masala, add saffron, pour water and give a quick stir, cover and let the lamb braise for 20-25 minutes on low heat until the meat is tender.
Remove from heat, add kewra drops and stir to mix. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. I served this curry with Khoba roti which is a Marwari delicacy.
