Royal Lamb Korma (Safed Maas)
This is a truly decadent version of a Korma, and is a delicious recipe that involves making it entirely from scratch - but the taste is worth the effort. It has a delectable combination of spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, cumin and coriander seeds that all have their own distinctive flavour, but work beautifully together. Unlike many Kormas it doesn't contain coconut, instead the flavours are distinctly nutty, somewhat sweet - and utterly delicious.
Ingredients
Serves 6 people
- 2-3 green chillies, deseeded and sliced
- 100g ground almonds
- 1.25cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
- 1kg leg of lamb, diced
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 100g plain natural yoghurt
- 100ml double cream
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp rosewater (optional)
Method
- Put the chillies, ground almonds, ginger and garlic into a food processor. Add 150ml water and blend to a fine Spice Paste. Set aside.
- Heat the ghee in a frying pan. Sear the lamb in batches until browned all over. Remove and set aside.
- Add the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, coriander and cumin seeds and cook for 1 minute. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Mix in the almond Spice Paste and the yogurt and cook for 5 minutes. Return the lamb to the pan and mix well. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the meat is very tender. Add water if it becomes too thick.
- About 10 minutes before the end of cooking, stir in the cream. Just before serving, stir in seasoning to taste and lemon juice and rosewater. Serve with warmed garlic and coriander naan bread
-
Serves 6 people
- 2-3 green chillies, deseeded and sliced
- 100g ground almonds
- 1.25cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
- 1kg leg of lamb, diced
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 100g plain natural yoghurt
- 100ml double cream
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp rosewater (optional)
-
- Put the chillies, ground almonds, ginger and garlic into a food processor. Add 150ml water and blend to a fine Spice Paste. Set aside.
- Heat the ghee in a frying pan. Sear the lamb in batches until browned all over. Remove and set aside.
- Add the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, coriander and cumin seeds and cook for 1 minute. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Mix in the almond Spice Paste and the yogurt and cook for 5 minutes. Return the lamb to the pan and mix well. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the meat is very tender. Add water if it becomes too thick.
- About 10 minutes before the end of cooking, stir in the cream. Just before serving, stir in seasoning to taste and lemon juice and rosewater. Serve with warmed garlic and coriander naan bread