Fab Lamb Korma

After Chicken Tikka Masala, the Korma has to be my second favourite Indian dish. I've tried out many different recipes and think I've finally cracked it. I started out with Mr Ramsay's Lamb Korma fromhis Indian cook book I've mentioned in an earlier post. But I found it a little on the dry side, so I made a few adjustments. Here's hat you need:

Ingredients (4 people)
500g Lamb cut into cubes
1 red chili
1 whole dried cayenne, crushed
75g Almonds, lightly toasted
75g Cashew nuts, lightly toasted
3 cloves of garlic
3 cm of fresh Ginger root
150 ml water
Ghee (clarified butter) or oil frying
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
2 tsp ground coriander
2 cardamom pods, pinched
2 onions, finely chopped
100 ml natural yoghurt (preferably greek, as thick youghurt tends to curdle less)
pinch of safran soaked in 1 tbsp of hot water
1 tsp tumeric
1 tbsp sugar
1 can of coconut milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Start by toasting the nuts and blend them into a fine paste along with the ginger, garlic, chili, cayenne and water.

Season the lamb and brown it on all sides for a couple of minutes in the ghee or oil. Remove and reserve for later.

Wipe away some of the excess fat, but don't clean the pan. Fry the cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf and ground coriander for a minute until it starts getting fragrant.

Add the chopped onion. Fry at mid-heat until they turn soft and lightly brown around the edges.

Meanwhile add the yoghurt and the safron to the almond paste.

When the onions are ready, add the almond paste. Fry it for about 5 minutes before adding the lamb from before along with any accumulated juices. Add a bit of extra water if too dry. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn't catch. It's still quite dry at this moment, so don't leave it too long unattended.

Prepare the rice (Fry a bit of cumin seeds, some cardamom pods and a whole star anise, add 1dl of basmati rice per person, fry the rice for 3 minutes while stirring. Add 1.5 dl water per person, bring to a boil and cookat low heat for 15 minutes under lid. Turn off heat and leave covered for 10 minutes).

After 30 minutes of cooking the lambs in the amond sauce, add the cream of the coconut milk, i.e. remove the more solid/thick part of the coconut milk with a spoon. Provided you haven't shaken the can of coconut milk it should separate into a thicker part on top and a more watery part at the bottom. At least the brand I'm buying does. Save the watery part for adding later if still too thick.

Add a tsp of tumeric. Let the dish cook for another 15 minutes.

Just before serving, add the lemon juice and about a tsp of salt or to taste.

Serve with aromatic basmati rice. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did.