Hector under Pressure

Towards the end of Last Year, Hector purchased the Kaiserhof Gas Tandoor. It sort of worked, but did not give the results hoped for.

At the Festive Season of Gift Receiving, it was the turn of the Tajine. The Dream is to Cook Lamb in its own Juices, as Dry as possible and retain all The Flavours.

Perhaps Too Dry has been the outcome to date One must trust the device and not peak, else all the Steam escapes. It also needs at least Four Hours to make a worthwhile Dish. The Turkey Tajine Couscous was Fine, not Outrageously Wonderful.

Dr. Stan has been trying to have me take his old Pressure Cooker off is hands for years. All the Indians use One – he assures me. I think Yvonne ended up with it. Für Mein Geburtstag a Deutsche Pressure Cooker came my way, complete with Crap Instructions. (The Text does not match the Photos)

Yesterday, less than a Kilo of Boneless Lamb was defrosted along with Two Lamb Steaks. A Video on a well known Media Website showed Lamb Karahi being cooked in a Pressure Cooker. Just chuck in the Lamb, stir in the Spices as feature in a Standard Masala, add roughly Chopped Onion and Tomato and – go for it.

No Liquid was added, Dry was the objective, though the Pressure Cooker Instructions do say at least 250ml of Water should be present. The Tomatoes must have had this. What the Water Content was of the Frozen Methi, who knows. No Garlic or Ginger at this time.

Half an Hour later the Pressure Cooker convinced me it had had enough, or maybe Hector had. The Aroma of Lamb, not Curry, was dominant. Time to peak. The Mush of Tomato and Onion served so well at The Khyber is what was hoped for. Instead, there was a Mass of Thin Liquid, and the Lamb was so Soft, it was in danger of disintegrating altogether. The Lamb was Cooked.

The latter part of said Video showed a Chap heat Oil then add Garlic and Ginger which are Stir Fried before the Lamb Mix was added. Very Wet, Soup-like. To this Yoghurt needed to be added, more Liquid, then Chopped Coriander towards the end. I felt a Mini-Masala was required. Fresh Mushrooms, to use them up, and a Spoon of Tamarind to add the Tang were the Hector Variations from the Video. The Result? The Soupiest Curry Hector has ever made with the Lamb approaching Pulp. If this was served to Hector in a Restaurant, the write-up would be unforgiving.

Marg was the First to Taste the Karahi-Soup. Having held back on the Chilli content this Curry was within Acceptable Parameters for Marg. Tasty, but where’s the Meat?

Thankfully the Tamarind was there, else it would have been Dire. Edible, yes.

Next Time

Minimal Liquid, so fewer Tomatoes. More Seasoning. And for say a Kilo, Twenty Five Minutes Under Pressure at most. Drain off the Excess Liquid.