El Hamlahlou (Algerian Sweet Lamb)
This is the first Algerian recipe on stonedsoup.net! El hamlahlou is a sweet lamb dish typically eaten during Ramadan. The lamb is seasoned with cinnamon and sautéed, then braised with pears, prunes, and raisins, finished off with a drizzle of orange blossom water. After fasting for a day, the dish is prepared and eaten in wait for fasting for the following day. The dish is purposely prepared without salt to stave off thirst, which drinking is prohibited during fasting. The dried fruits are used as a sugar boost of energy. You can definitely eat this whenever you want; if you celebrate Ramadan or not. I highly recommend to do so. This is probably the best thing I’ve eaten all month. Serve the lamb with couscous and a veggie of your choosing.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 lbs bone in lamb shoulder cut into 2” cubes
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 12 prunes pitted
- 1 pear unripened; peeled and sliced
- 3 tbsp golden raisins
- 2 tbsp slivered almonds
- 2 tbsp orange blossom water
Instructions
- Heat up butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Sauté the lamb cubes until browned on all sides; about 8 minutes. Season with cinnamon.
- Pour in the water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for an hour.
- Add in the pears, prunes, raisins, and slivered almonds. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the orange blossom water.
