This, being the month of Christmas, a holiday celebrated among 160 of the 195 countries that make up this planet, I’ve decided to do a monthly installment of how different countries around the world celebrate this special holiday in their kitchens and feature their signature holiday meals. Some may be sides, some may be mains, maybe a dessert or two, some may be a complete dinner. Only time will tell by which country my girls have randomly pulled out of Santa’s hat.
Well, now that I’ve broken into Asian territory, why not another hit from the region? Today, I made lamb “biryani”. I’ve been trying to make this dish for over a week now. I had to keep pushing this entry back, day-after-day-after-day, because I couldn’t find lamb shanks anywhere in a 30 mile radius for 2 weeks. That’s really unheard of. I’ve always been able to get them on-demand. I spoke with my brother-in-law (he’s a butcher) and he said it’s been hard to access them recently. Not sure if it’s due to the pandemic, but this was totally a first for me.
The dish? This is the second time I’ve made a biryani. Well, technically this dish isn’t a biryani as the rice wasn’t cooked with the meat. The first time was a legit Hyderabadi Indian biryani where you cover the pot with a bread dough, as opposed to its normal pot top. You don’t eat the bread at the end, but you break through the crust to access the cooked goodness inside when it is done. This one is different; both in cooking method and ingredients. It’s the first time I’m cooking with dried roses and I got to make a really fragrant spice mix which I mixed into the yogurt marinade along with some pre-cooked onions. It’s a pretty hands-off dish, after making the marinade, so is one of those great things you can make while also getting a bunch of stuff done around the house.
Kashmiri Roasted Lamb Adapted from Great British Chefs, Sumayya Usmani
Kashmiri Spice Mix
¼ stick cinnamon
1 cardamom pod
½ tsp cumin seed (or ground cumin)
½ nutmeg seed, freshly ground
½ tsp whole cloves
1 tbsp dried rose petals
Marinade
5 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red onion - peeled, halved and sliced thinly
1 cup of Greek-style yogurt
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 garlic clove, finely grated
2 tbsp blanched sliced almonds
2 tbsp roasted pistachio nuts
2 tbsp raisins
Juice of half of a lemon
1 heaping tbsp Kashmiri spice mix
2 lamb shanks
Dish preparation
2 tbsp ghee
Kosher salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Kashmiri spice mix
Make the spice mix and set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a small saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions and stir in a pinch of salt, fry-cooking the onions until they are crispy on the outside and slightly softened. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and prepare the remainder of the marinade while they drain/cool.
In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, ginger, garlic, almonds, pistachios, raisins, lemon juice, 3 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 tbsp of spice mix. Once fully blended, stir in the onions and a pinch of salt. Add in the lamb shanks turning to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.
When ready to cook the meat, preheat the oven to 350 and melt the ghee in a skillet over medium-high heat. Wipe off most of the marinade from the lamb and season with kosher salt and sprinkle on some spice mix. Sear the meat on all sides, about 8-10 minutes in total.
Transfer the meat to a small baking dish and cover with the remaining marinade. Loosely cover the baking dish with tin foil and place in the oven.
After an hour in the oven, flip the shanks and brush them with a teaspoon of olive oil. Repeat this process twice, every 30 minutes. After the meat has cooked for 2 hours total, cook an additional 30 minutes uncovered.
Serve with steamed rice or basmati pilaf. _____________________________________________ Copyright 2020, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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