Lamb Curry with Cumin and Potatoes

This lamb curry with cumin, spiked up with habaneros from the garden is perfect for any meat lover on a cold and chilly day. Now, a cold and chilly day in New York can be any time during the Oct to April. But I am joking, the truth is that this is a comforting hearty dish. The kinds that warm your cockles. It makes a perfect wholesome and hearty dish. Despite its simplicity it offers layers of flavors. The interesting note in this dish is that it is finished with a good dash of roasted cumin that is ground and sprinkled over the finished curry.

Story Behind the Dish

This dish is inspired by a recipe I tasted in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. A homey dish, it can be made with goat meat if you have some around. It is my new year’s weekend meal this year. Post hangover, with a group of 8 to cook for. Thankfully, the crowd generally is fine with the dish, no vegetarians today. In fact, heading to the grocery store, I did not find much by way of vegetables but did find good stewing lamb and voila Cumin Lamb with potatoes happened.

The do’s and don’ts of this Lamb Curry

Ideally the habanero chilies (if you have them) meshed with the cumin gives this curry a good bold flavor. Do not overthink the dish. Make this dish with the potatoes you have on hand. I have tried them with everything from russets to delicate fingerling potatoes.   This recipe is a laid-back kind of curry that is simmered or in my case pressure cooked to fork tender perfection.

Do not skip browning the meat and fishing with the toasted cumin. To make this a more balanced winter meal, I like to serve this with my beet and mint raita.

I serve this with plain steamed rice, some thinly sliced onions. When I ate the curry in India, it was offered up with onions and piping hot chapatis.

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Lamb Curry with Cumin and Potatoes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

A hearty lamb curry with cumin and potatoes that is guaranteed to warm the cockles on a chilly winter's day.

Ingredients

  • 1 pounds of boneless leg of lamb, cubed
  • 1 and ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 11/2 teaspoons paprika or Kashmiri red chili powder (note, if you are not using the habanero pepper, use red cayenne pepper)
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 to 3 bay leaves
  • 1 3 inch large stick cinnamon, broken into smaller pieces
  • 2 to 3 pods green cardamom
  • 2 to 3 cloves
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • 1 habanera chili, minced
  • 1 tablespoon powdered cumin
  • 1 teaspoon powdered coriander
  • 1 cup yogurt or 4 tomatoes, diced.
  • 4 fingerling potatoes peeled and halved, or i medium sized russet potato peeled and cut into cubes.
    • To finish
  • 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

Instructions

  1. Place the lamb in a mixing bowl with the salt, turmeric and paprika, toss to allow the spices to coat the meat and set aside while browning the onion.
  2. Add in the cumin seeds and wait till they sizzle lightly.
  3. Add in the onion and saute the onion until soft and beginning to turn pale golden, this will take about 4 to 5 minutes.
  4. Add in the ginger and the garlic and cook for another minute.
  5. Add in the lamb and coating spice mixture and mix well. Add in the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, sugar and the minced chili, lower the temperature and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, allowing the meat to get warmed through.
  6. Add in the cumin and coriander and mix well. Add in 1 tablespoon of the yogurt and mix well. Add the yogurt 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing it to be well absorbed after each addition, until half the yogurt is used. This will take about 10 minutes but is important for the curry to develop its full flavor. If you are using tomatoes and them all at once but cook through until the tomatoes are soft and almost broken down.
  7. Add in the remaining yogurt and mix well, add in 11/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower the temperature and cover and simmer for about 1 hour.
  8. Add in the potatoes (if using) and mix well. Simmer the mixture, until the lamb is fork tender and the potatoes are very soft.
  9. While the curry is cooking, toast the teaspoon of cumin seeds until the cumin seeds turn fragrant and darken. This will take about 5 minutes. Grind or crush into a powder.
  10. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with the roasted cumin seeds and stir this in.
  11. Allow the curry to rest for a few minutes before serving.
https://spicechronicles.com/lamb-curry-cumin-potatoes/

 

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