BM #1 - AAE - Day 3 - Lamb Chops Indian Style

Hailing from a vegetarian family, my IQ of non-vegetarian cooking is very limited. I do have a basic understanding of taste, texture etc, but my skills in the various cuts that can be given to a meat, or the cleaning processs, or the cooking time is very limited. Last few months, I am focussing more on improving my skills and also trying out various types of ways to cook meat.

Lamb chops are a favorite at home. My MIL's version of lamb chops are very famous in our circle of friends and family. She has a unique cooking style - slow cooking. I know, slow cooking is a technique used by many, but to me spending enless hours in the kitchen on one dish simply seems too much. I really run out of patience and end up in frustration while cooking lamb because I kind of never get the texture right mainly because I have either over cooked it or under cooked it or would have fast cooked it. In either situations, there is a huge difference in the taste. I am learning, slowly and steadily :-)

I dared to cook this dish all by myself for the first time in so many years, without the help of anybody. Kudos to me on that. I have gained a lot of confidence in lamb cooking now and I am getting experimental by the day.

Ingredients:

1/2 kg lamb chops, cleaned and set aside for draining,

For the marination:

1 tsp turmeric powder,

1 tsp salt,

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

For the dish:

4 large onions, 1 finely chopped, 3 blended in a chopper not to a fine paste,

1 large tomato, blended in a chopper not to a fine paste,

1 tsp cumin seeds,

2-3 bay leaves,

1 large cinnamon stick,

1 tsp ginger garlic paste,

1 tsp turmeric powder,

2 tsp red chilli powder,

1 tsp black pepper powder,

1 tsp cinnamon powder,

1 tsp garam masala powder,

3 tbsp oil, 

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash and drain off the excess water from the chops. Marinate the lamb and set it aside while you get on with rest of the cooking.
2. In a pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds. Once it splutters, add the bay leaves, whole cinnamon, and chopped onions first. Saute until it turns golden brown. Now add the rest of the onion and ginger garlic paste. Saute until the oil starts to separate.
3. Add the tomatoes and saute some more. Once the oil seperates, add the marinated lamb and mix well.
4. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix well. Add a little water if you want it to be semi dry, just enough to help the lamb cook well. If you want the gravy to be a little runny, then adjust the water accordingly. Cover and allow it to cook in simmer.
5. Once the lamb is completely cooked, add the garam masala and simmer for another 2-3 mins. Adjust the salt and spice as per taste.
6. Finally, add the black pepper powder and cinnamon powder. Mix well and cover it with the lid. Switch off the flame and allow it to rest for a 15 mins.
7. Garnish with green coriander and serve hot.  

Serve this with roti's, paratha's or jeera rice. It tastes awesome. If you would like to serve this as a starter, reduce the quantity of onion and tomato and prepare it dry. 

This also happens to be my second non-vegetarian recipe post in this blog :-). Check out my mutton kheema recipe here.

Read more about my blogging marathon, here and here. 

Hop over at my SIL's blog as she is running this Marathon with me.

All recipes of Blogging Marathon #1