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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 75 Minutes |
Ready In: 75 Minutes Servings: 4 |
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Lamb is stewed with apricots and spices to produce an extremely rich and aromatic dish. No pretensions to authenticity here; I have used a number of shortcuts! I have listed variations where they occur, thus*. This is adapted from a recipe provided by Norma Macmillan , originally from Reader's Digest. Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil - i used groundnut |
1 1/4 lb. boneless lamb, cut into bite size cubes. i used a piece of boned & rolled shoulder, which i unrolled and cut up. you can use ready-diced lamb meat if you prefer. |
more oil |
2 onions, halved and thinly sliced |
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped |
2 tablespoons finely chopped root ginger |
(*i cheated and used english provender's 'very lazy' ready chopped garlic, and also their ready chopped ginger - both lifesavers when you're out of the fresh article or just can't be bothered chopping) |
1 fresh red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped |
2 large pinches saffron |
2 heaped teaspoons ground coriander |
2 heaped teaspoons ground cumin |
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon |
1 heaped teaspoon mild paprika |
1 level teaspoon salt |
3 1/2 oz. dates, stoned and sliced (* i used dried apricots as dates are too sugary for my diabetes. i soaked the apricots for 15 -20 minutes first) |
1 1/4 pints of lamb stock (*i used the trimmings from the meat plus 2 stock cubes to make a couple of pints of quick stock) |
couscous to serve, cooked according to pack instructions |
1/2 oz. fresh coriander, chopped |
1 oz. pistachio nuts, chopped |
seeds of 1 small pomegranate |
(* a handful of sultanas) |
Directions:
1. In a large pan, heat the oil.
2. Fry the cubed lamb until browned. (* You're supposed to do this in batches, but I was too hungry to wait that long so I bunged it all in at once and it came out fine).
3. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, and set aside, keeping warm.
4. Add a little more oil to the pan and heat it up.
5. Add the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli and fry gently, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes until soft and beginning to colour just a little.
6. Return the meat to the pan.
7. Add in the saffron, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, paprika and salt.
8. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring well until the meat is well coated in oil and spice.
9. Add the dates or apricots, and 1 pint of hot lamb stock.
10. Cover and simmer for 1 1/4 hours, until the meat is tender. Add more stock if necessary if it's getting too thick.
11. Prepare the couscous according to the pack instructions. Use lamb stock instead of water if you have enough left.
12. Into the couscous, add the chopped coriander (* I left this out - didn't have any)
13. Add the chopped pistachios (*I used cashews, as that's what I had)
14. Stir well in.
15. Spoon the lamb over the couscous.
16. Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds (* I left this out - didn't have any)
17. * I mixed some sultanas in with the couscous instead.
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