Best Curried Lamb With Apricots Recipes

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH APRICOT CURRY SAUCE

Steps:

• In a blender, combine apricots, curry powder, vinegar, mustard and 1 cup water. Puree until smooth, about 3 minutes. Place lamb shanks in a glass or other nonreactive dish, and add apricot sauce. Turn to coat lamb well. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 days, turning meat occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Place a large, deep, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat, and add 2 tablespoons oil. Remove lamb from marinade, reserving liquid. Brown lamb, turning often to prevent burning. Transfer to a platter. Add remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to pan. Add carrots, celery, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Saute over medium heat until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes.
• Place lamb shanks on vegetables, and add thyme sprig, bay leaves, peppercorns and all but 1/2 cup marinade. Add water to come up almost to top of pan. Lay a sheet of parchment paper over pan, and carefully transfer to oven. Braise until meat is so tender it almost falls off bone, 5 to 6 hours.
• Remove pan from oven. Using a slotted spoon, transfer lamb to a baking sheet. Brush with remaining marinade. Raise oven temperature to 300 degrees, and return lamb to oven to crisp. Strain cooking liquid into saute pan, discarding vegetables. Cook over high heat, reducing it by four-fifths.
• To serve, spoon grits onto each of four serving plates. Lay lamb on top, and spoon some cooking liquid around and over. Garnish each plate with a sprig of thyme.

'NIGHT 'NIGHT CURRY: ROASTED LAMB CURRY WITH GARAM MASALA, CARAWAY AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• For the marinade: Pull out your pestle and mortar and add the caraway seeds. Grind to a powder, then pour into a large non-reactive bowl (stainless steel is best because turmeric can stain ceramics). Add the garlic and the ginger to the mortar. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and pound away until a relatively smooth paste forms. (If you don't have a pestle and mortar then finely mince the ginger.)
• Scrape the ginger-garlic paste into the large bowl with the caraway seeds. Add the yogurt, 1 teaspoon of salt, turmeric, cayenne pepper and garam masala and whisk all together. Add the lamb and toss until all the pieces are well coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, place it in the refrigerator and let it marinate up to overnight.
• When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Pull out the lamb and let it come to room temperature. Meanwhile, get going on the onions. Warm the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the onions and stir so they're thoroughly coated with oil. Let them sit about 5 minutes or so, until the onions around the perimeter begin to brown. Stir, redistribute, and allow to sit another 5 minutes or so. Repeat this process until the onions are evenly browned, about 20 minutes in total.
• Reduce the heat to low and cook another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are a deep chestnut brown (not burnt!) and slightly crispy. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions to a paper towel-lined plate and drain. (You can strain the oil and use it to cook your next batch of vegetables!).
• Add the onions to the lamb along with the milk and the dried apricot halves. Stir to combine evenly, then pour into a medium baking dish that holds the lamb in a single, even layer (an 8-inch square or an 8-inch by 10 1/2-inch dish works well as does an oval dish). Cover firmly with foil, and pop into the oven for 1 1/2 hours, rotating the dish halfway through the cooking time, uncover for another 30 minutes of cook time.
• Sprinkle with almonds and serve with crusty bread or naan.
• Combine the cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamom seeds, black cardamom seeds, if using, in a spice grinder or coffee grinder and grind until fine. Store the spice mix in an airtight container away from direct sunlight.
• In a large glass, dissolve the dry yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar with 3/4 cup warm water (about 100 degrees F). Let it sit on your counter until it's frothy, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, sift the flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar and baking powder into a large, deep bowl.
• Once the yeast is frothy, add the yogurt and the olive oil into the glass, and stir to combine. Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and add the kalonji and fennel seeds, if using, and gently mix the ingredients together with a fork. When the dough is about to come together, use your hands to mix. It will feel like there isn't enough flour at first, but keep going until it transforms into a soft, slightly sticky and pliable dough. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 2 to 4 hours.
• When you're ready to roll, make sure you have two bowls on your counter: one with extra flour in it, and one with water. The dough will be extremely soft and sticky-this is good! Separate the dough into 6 equal portions and lightly roll each one in the bowl of extra flour to keep them from sticking to each other.
• Shape the naan. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a teardrop shape, narrower at the top than at the bottom. It should be 8 to 9-inches long, 4-inches wide at its widest point and about 1/4-inch thick. Once you've formed the general shape, you can also pick it up by one end and wiggle it; the dough's own weight will stretch it out a little. Repeat this method with the rest of the dough. (If you're making the gluten-free version, you'll have better luck pressing the dough out with your fingertips, than rolling.)
• Warm a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it's nearly smoking. Make sure you have a lid large enough to fit the skillet and have a bowl of melted butter at the ready.
• Dampen your hands in the bowl of water and pick up one of your naans, flip-flopping it from one hand to the other to lightly dampen it. Gently lay it in the skillet, and set your timer for 1 minute. The dough should start to bubble.
• After about 1 minute, flip the naan. It should be blistered and somewhat blackened, don't worry - that's typical of traditional naan! Cover the skillet with the lid and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more.
• Remove the naan from the skillet, brush with a bit of butter and sprinkle with a little coarse sea salt. Place the naan in a tea towel-lined dish. Repeat with the rest of the naans and serve.

JARDALOO SALI BOTI (CURRIED LAMB WITH APRICOTS AND ALMONDS)

Steps:

• In a 6-quart slow cooker, stir together the lamb, vinegar, brown sugar, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, fennel seeds, cardamom, saffron, cloves and salt until the meat is thoroughly coated in the spices.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, ginger, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent (3 minutes).
• Scrape the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker. Stir in the apricots, almonds, vegetable broth and tomato sauce.
• Cover and cook on low until the meat is very tender (6-8 hours). If you left the bones with the meat, remove the meat with tongs and separate the meat from the bones, discarding the bones.
• Degrease the sauce, if necessary, by laying a paper towel on the surface to soak up the fat, then remove and discard it. Repeat with another paper towel, if needed.
• Return the deboned meat to the sauce and season to taste with salt. Serve over shoestring potatoes for a traditional Parsi meal. You can also serve it over cooked brown rice, over couscous or steamed, stemmed spinach.