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Spiced Lamb with Fennel, Chili, and Tomato
Spiced Lamb with Fennel, Chili, and Tomato
Kothu kari kulambu is a spiced ground lamb dish from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Seasoned ground lamb is cooked with onions, garlic, and tomatoes. A spice paste consisting of coriander, fennel, cumin, Kashmiri chilies, and curry leaves is stirred in, then cooked down with the lamb. The lamb is served with flaky parathas.
Equipment
- Spice grinder
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs ground lamb
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1” ginger
- 1 green bird’s eye chilies
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 8 curry leaves
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 roma tomatoes diced
- salt to taste
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Spice Paste
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 5 Kashmiri chilies
- 10 curry leaves
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Add the 6 garlic cloves, ginger, and green chili to a food processor and process into a paste.
- Mix the paste with the ground lamb and set aside.
- Add the spice paste ingredients to a spice grinder and turn into a powder.
- Mix the spices with a tbsp of water to create a paste. Set aside.
- Heat up the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the 2 minced garlic cloves and curry leaves for a minute.
- Stir in the onions and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
- Turn the heat up to medium high and brown the lamb for 8 minutes.
- Add in the spice paste, water, and salt. Simmer for 3 minutes.
- Cover the pan. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Uncover the pan. Squeeze over the lemon juice.
Picanha Steaks
Picanha Steaks
Picanha is slowly growing in popularity due to restaurants like Fogo de Chao and other Brazilian steakhouses. Picanha is from the culotte muscle, which is the top flap of the whole top butt sirloin. That entire muscle is peeled off with the fat cap left untrimmed. The culotte muscle is cut with the grain into 3 large steaks.Traditionally, the culotte steaks are marinated in Brazilian sofrito(onion/garlic/olive oil purée) and placed on large skewers and grilled upright on an open flame. While that might be an issue for most people to replicate, there are other ways to duplicate the picanha. You can simply grill them, broil them, and even pan fry in a cast iron skillet like I did in this recipe.
Equipment
- food processor
- cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 1 whole culotte about 2.5lbs; untrimmed
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 head garlic peeled
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- coarse sea salt
- cracked black pepper
- 2 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Purée the onion, garlic, and olive oil in a food processor.
- Cut the culotte with the grain into 3 steaks.
- Marinate the steaks with the Brazilian sofrito in a gallon sized storage bag for 24 hours. Make sure to squeeze out the excess air.
- Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Place the steaks on a meat/fat side. Sear for 4 minutes.
- Flip the steaks to the other meat/fat side. Sear for 4 minutes.
- Flip the meat to the fat side facing down. Cook for 5 minutes to render out some of the fat.
- Flip the steaks to fat side up. Sear for 2 minutes.
- Remove the steaks from the skillet. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Thinly slice the steaks against the grain.
Dukka Roasted Potatoes
Dukka Roasted Potatoes
Dukka is an Egyptian spice blend made out of ground nuts, seeds, and seasonings. Traditionally it is mixed with olive oil and served with crusty bread. It also happens to turn roasted potatoes into something magical.
Equipment
- Spice grinder
Ingredients
Dukka Spice
- 2/3 cup blanched almonds
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp chilie powder
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp celery salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Dukka Potatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 lbs red potatoes washed; cut into cubes
- 6 garlic cloves smashed
- 3 tbsp butter melted
- 3 tbsp dukka seasoning
- salt to taste
Garnish
- parsley chopped
Instructions
- Add the almonds, sesame seeds, coriander, and cumin in a spice grinder. Grind into a powder and mix with the rest of the seasonings. Set aside.
- Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Place the potatoes and garlic in a glass baking dish. Pour over the lemon/olive oil mixture. Place in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes, stirring every 10.
- Mix together the melted butter and 3 tbsp of dukka seasoning.
- Pour over the potatoes. Bake for another 15 minutes.
