Lamb cutlets?

Yes. The Times had a story of some 19th century poor man's veal or somesuch thing, updated with lamb. Read the story here. I like lamb and I just folded to my weakness and bought the cast iron dutch oven that Sameera swears by. They had it in red - how could I resist :) I'm looking forward to inaugurating the pot with this braising recipe...

1879: Epigram of Lamb
By AMANDA HESSER
This recipe ran in The Times and was attributed to Young Ladies’ Magazine.

2 pounds lamb breast, trimmed of excess fat
1/2 Spanish onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 cloves
8 black peppercorns
3 sprigs parsley
4 sprigs thyme or sage or rosemary (or all 3)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 to 2 cups coarse dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter, more if needed
1 tablespoon olive oil, more if needed
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Cooked fresh peas.

1. Lay the lamb in a large, heavy braising pot. Add the onion, carrot, celery, cloves, peppercorns, parsley and thyme. Season with salt. Add just enough water to cover and set over medium-high heat. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the meat is falling off the bone, 1 1/4 to 2 hours. Let the meat cool in the liquid.

2. Lay the meat on a large plate or baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap. Cover with another plate or baking sheet, place a weight on top and refrigerate overnight.

3. The next day, slice the lamb on the bias. The slices should be about 1/3-inch thick. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange one shallow bowl with the beaten egg and another with the bread crumbs. Place a large nonstick sauté pan over medium heat and add the butter and olive oil. Dip the lamb cutlets first in the egg, then the bread crumbs. Fry until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do this in batches, adding more butter and olive oil if needed. Serve with lemon wedges and fresh green peas. Serves 4.

Foods of the Prophet (pbuh)

February has been a busy month! I guess I haven't been cooking all that much or I would have posted something :) I did make some awesome chicken wings from Mark Bittman's book which I will post soon. But a friend had a really fun party at her house this past weekend where the theme for the food was things that the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) enjoyed eating. There was a whole range of things, from dates and honey to cucumbers, lentils, and tomato-basil salad (I think tomatos were big back then :)). While I was googling for things to make, I came across "tharid", which is a dish that the Prophet mentioned was at the top of the list of best meals. I'd never heard of it before but it sounded delicious when I looked up recipes, so I decided to try it.

I read that the original tharid is so thick with bread that you can actually pull it apart with your hands, no spoon required. I toned down the bread crumbs since I know people enjoy stews and so did the Prophet (pbuh). This recipe below makes a lot, so cut down if you're making for just a few people. I also used 3 cans of canned chickpeas, so I added them after the stew had been cooking for about 30 min on lower heat.

Tharid Lamb & Chickpea Stew
This recipe is adapted from a 13th century Andalusian cookbook.
http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/substantial_tharid_lamb.html


Soaking: Overnight
Total second-day time: 2 hours

Ingredients:
3 cups chickpeas
3 lbs. lamb, cut into bite-sized cubes
8 cups water
6 cups finely chopped onion
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh coriander
2 tsp. caraway seeds
2 tsp. pepper
6 eggs
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. saffron in 2 tbsp. water
1/2 cup honey
Enough stale bread for 2 cups of crumbs
6 rounds pita bread, quartered

1. Put the chickpeas into a large bowl, cover them with cold water and let soak overnight. The next day, drain the chickpeas and set them aside.

2. Put the lamb into a large stew pot and cover it with cold water. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam that rises to the top. Add the chickpeas, onion, ground and fresh coriander, caraway seeds and pepper; return to a boil, then reduce the heat.

3. Break the eggs directly into the pot so that they will poach along with the stew. Let the stew cook for an hour to an hour and a half, until the chickpeas are done and the lamb is tender.

4. Add salt and saffron, then remove 1/2 cup of broth from the pot, mix it together with the honey, and pour it back into the pot. Return to a boil and boil vigorously for 3 minutes. Add the bread crumbs to the pot.

5. Put the pita wedges in the bottom of the serving bowl and pour the tharid over them; or serve the pita wedges alongside the tharid and so that guests may put a few in the bottom of an individual soup bowl, then spoon the stew over the bread.

Mongolian Street Food

I love Mark Bittman (I mean his cooking style, of course) and I've been following his blog lately. He posted a recipe for mongolian street food straight from the food carts of queens, and it reminded me of food from the halal carts in manhattan (haven't eaten street food in queens :)). I tried it with chicken breast recently, but I'll be using lamb when I have some around next time.

Stir-Fried Lamb With Chili, Cumin and Garlic

Yield 4 servings

Time At least 30 minutes

Mark Bittman

Summary

You absolutely need cumin seeds, not ground cumin. It's worth the two or three minutes it takes to toast the seeds before marinating the meat. You can grind them if you like, but I like the little bit of crunch the seeds add.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Peanut or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, to film the bottom of the skillet
• 1 cup trimmed and roughly chopped scallions, optional
• Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish, optional

Method

• 1. Cut lamb into 1/2-inch cubes (easier if meat is firmed in the freezer for 15 to 45 minutes). Toast cumin seeds in dry skillet over medium heat, shaking pan occasionally, until fragrant, a minute or two. Toss together lamb with cumin, chili, garlic, soy sauce, a large pinch of salt and a healthy grinding of pepper. If you like, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook, up to 24 hours.
• 2. When ready to cook, put a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet (ideally, it will hold the lamb in one layer, or nearly so) and turn heat to high. When hot, add lamb. Cook, undisturbed, for about a minute, then stir once or twice to loosen lamb from skillet. Cook another minute, then stir again. Add scallions, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until scallions glisten and shrink a bit and the meat is about medium.
• 3. If you want a slightly saucier mixture, stir in 1/4 cup water and cook another minute. Serve hot over rice, garnished, if you like, with cilantro.

Manksho Jhol

This is a bengali recipe for mutton in gravy. Apparantly my people think mutton means either lamb or goat, even though it actually means older sheep (lamb). I used goat for this recipe though, because I've been meaning to cook with it and see if I like it better than beef, and it turned out really well. At least that's what I think :)


Manksho Jhol (from angithi.com)
Servings: 6
Time to prepare: 2 hours

Ingredients:

- 2 lb Meat (lamb or goat)
- 5 pods Garlic
- 1.5 inch Ginger
- 2 medium Onion
- 8 Red Chili pepper (dried)
- 5 Cardamom
- 1/2 inch Cinnamon
- 5 Cloves
- 1/4 tsp Mace (or 1/8 tsp nutmeg)
- 6 Peppercorns
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Seed Powder
- 2 large Potato
- 5 tbsp Cooking Oil
- 1 tsp Ghee
- to taste Salt
- 3 cups Water
- 1 bunch Cilantro
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- 2 Bay Leaf
- 1 tsp Red Chili Powder

Instructions:

1. Marinate the Meat first:

2. For the masala paste: Grind the ingredients from Garlic to Peppercorns in a mixer. Add 4 tbsp water also use only half an onion for the paste. Now extract the juices from the paste.

3. Cut the meat into small cube like pieces of 1 inch by 1 inch. Wash it properly.

4. Add the half cup yogurt, masala paste juice from 2, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder and turmeric powder. Mix it properly with the meat and let it marinate for an hour. (the more the better)

5. Peel and cut the potato into large pieces of like 1 inch by 1 inch and keep it aside.

6. Heat the oil, add the bay leaves, sugar and fry for 1 min. Add the sliced onions, and fry till light brown.

7. Add the marinated meat and bring it to full boil. Add the potatoes and reduce the heat to medium heat. Cover the pan and let it fry for 20 min.

8. Check to see if the potato is boiled properly. Remove the potatoes once boiled, and keep it aside.

9. Cover the pan and fry it till oil starts coming out. (Remember not to be hasty and keep on stirring frequently till oil has come out completely)

10. Next add the water and bring it to boil on full heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan and let it simmer for 20 min. (till the meat has become tender)

11. Add the potatoes and let it simmer for another 10 min. Remove from heat and add the ghee. Garnish it with finely chopped cilantro. Serve hot with plain white rice.

Lamb Stew with Butternut Squash

This is a recipe sushisameroni sent to me once and i just love it!

With shorter days and colder nights, this richly flavorful lamb stew with butternut squash is a great way to fill up and stay warm.

Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1 pound lean lamb shoulder, on the bone, trimmed of fat, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 Tbsp olive oil1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp Sweet Hungarian paprika
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 pounds of butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 14-oz can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
Salt (to taste)
1/6 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried mint

Directions:
1 Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper on the meat. In a large pan heat a thin layer of olive oil. Add the meat and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until all the juices evaporate, about 7 minutes. Add the onion and cook stirring, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

2 Add the tomato paste, 1 Tbsp of paprika and 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring until the mixture begins to carmelize. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to a low simmer, and simmer until the meat is tender, about 45 minutes. (If you have a pressure cooker, you can pressure cook the meat mixture for about 15 minutes instead.)

3 Add the squash, garbanzo beans, tomato, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and enough water to just cover the ingredients. Cover and cook until the squash is tender, about 30 minutes.

4 Stir in the lemon juice and remove from the heat. Season with salt. Transfer the stew to a shallow serving dish.

5 Rub the 2 teaspoons of paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and dried mint through a fine sieve. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil on medium heat, until a speck of spice dropped into the oil sizzles. Add the sieved spices and stir for just an instant. Swirl the seasoned oil into the stew, stir once and serve hot with warm, crusty bread.

Serves 6. (Recipe adapted from one in Food and Wine magazine.)

My comments:
This is a great winter stew! And not to worry, if you dont have all the ingredients you can improvise with your own spices. The key is that you make the lamb nice and tender, and the butternut squash is an amazing compliment to the texture.