Fried Lamb and Potatoes~Bhuna Gosht-Aloo

I wrote about my lamb experience a couple of posts back and despite my lack of enthusiasm for the stuff, I still have lamb in the freezer that needs to be cooked. I may not like it, but my husband and the children enjoy it so I made some for them the other day.

The way my mother made it most often was this fried or bhuna, as we say in Urdu, version. I think my dad enjoyed this and that’s why it was made so often! It is very good…if you like lamb. I remember really enjoying it as a child when I obviously had working taste buds and a muted sense of smell. I don’t think she used onions but I add one so that there is some masala that can be mopped up with some bread or rice. Potatoes are a natural accompaniment to meat, even in Indian cooking. I think the ubiquitous meat and potatoes  holds no boundaries and travels from cuisine to cuisine in some delicious disguise.

Like with most red meat, it is much easier to get the flesh tender if you use a pressure cooker. You can braise it for a couple of hours if you wish, but if you own a pressure cooker, use it! At my high altitude, tenderising meat is a challenge and it literally takes over two hours to get meat fork tender. The pressure cooker is one of the most frequently used pans in my kitchen. I think that is payback for all the times I used to make fun of my sister who swears by her pressure cooker.

Let me know what you think.

The dish serves 6-8 along with other accompaniments.

Fried Lamb with Potatoes

1 ½ lb/680g lamb, boneless pieces

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ginger, minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon red chilli powder

1 teaspoon black pepper, coarsely ground

1 cinnamon stick

2 green chillies

handful cilantro

2 tablespoons oil

3 medium, gold potatoes, medium dice

2 cups/473 ml water

In a pressure cooker, heat the oil on medium heat and add the onions.

Sauté the onions till golden brown, add the garlic and ginger and cook a minute.

Add the lamb and brown.

Add the cinnamon stick, cumin, coriander, turmeric and red chilli powder.

Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook the meat until tender (make sure there is enough water so the onions don’t burn)

My pressure cooker takes 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, add the potatoes and the green chillies and cook uncovered until the potatoes are tender and the water has evaporated ( I transferred mine into a frying pan to expedite the evaporation process)

Once the water has evaporated and the oil has separated, add the cilantro and the black pepper and check for salt.

It’s a pity that I didn’t get to eat this dish because it smelled divine and the masala was fantastic. The peppery spiciness along with the sweet, caramelised onions. My family enjoyed it for dinner the first night and then they finished the leftovers for breakfast with some eggs. So, I know I have an issue with lamb but I can still cook it and it tastes really good and I hope you will try it, especially if you love lamb.

Have a great day and thank you for reading.