How is this possible? Simple answer – it isn’t – I may have massaged the reality. Thirty minutes? More like thirty days. My favourite Curry Cafes can turn one out the authentic Curry one seeks in some forty odd minutes, they too must cheat. Then there’s the Mainstream restaurants’ Lamb Karahi served in ten minutes, why it takes them so long to under-cook their unnecessary Capsicum, still bewilders. Let’s step away from the imposters.
The Lamb has to be pre-cooked, else no restaurant diner is ever going to wait the length of time it takes. I have written before of the many recipes I have seen online where they fudge the time it takes to cook Lamb. In October I posted Lamb Curry – after “Cook with Aqib”, a success. This is also when I was introduced to Red Fried Onions which have been tried in everything cooked a bit since. No tears, and no watery residue as per frozen chopped Onions. Back in 2020, Curryspondent Bill made me aware of – #cookwithnabeela. This employed blended Onions which I have tended only to do when preparing a Chicken Korma. With the Onions blended, not the Masala, potentially great results could be forthcoming. Today, I unveil Hector’s master-class in the preparation of Lahori Karahi Gosht.
So why the – thirty minutes – claim? I cooked the Lamb weeks ago, Steps 1 – 4. This evening it was just the simple manner of preparing the tomato-rich Masala which was required. Refer to Steps 5 – 11 which take thirty one minutes, including the two minutes sitting time.
A kilo and a half of Lamb on-the-bone was purchased from my local Garscadden Halal Butcher/Grocer. Please cut it small – was an instruction totally ignored. I was served huge pieces with a mass of bones. Perhaps I’ll have to make the effort of going to KRK to get what I really want, else abandon the bones. Boneless Karahi Gosht? No way, Pedro!
Before cooking, the tried and tested overnight marinade. As I was only using Garlic Paste, I blitzed the Ginger and Bullet Chilli to make a combined Paste. This was added to the hot Oil, much less Oil than I have posted in the original Curry Recipes. The half litre of Water looks wrong, but this is how it must be to cook the Lamb. Periodic stirring is required throughout, don’t let one’s expensive Lamb stick to the pot or dry out.
The Lamb cooked, I split the mass into one large helping and one smaller. It was the latter which was defrosted this morning.
With the Lamb reheated, in went the puréed Onion, Spices, Tomatoes, Yoghurt, more Water and finally Herbs. As per the posted recipe, there was some aggressive cooking and stirring over the next half hour. As with the original cooking of the Meat, everything looked a bit too wet, however, the liquid soon reduced to reveal the required thickness of Masala.
To accompany, some shop bought Garlic & Coriander Naan. That’s the last time I’ll follow the instructions for microwaving. Use a conventional oven, Hector, treat the Bread with more respect.
Lahori Karahi Gosht
The Masala had a wonderful Texture, perhaps a bit less Yoghurt next time, this was tending towards – Creamy. Some of the Meat had separated from the bone whilst cooking, the remainder fell off easily with a fork. My fear at the outset of having monstrous pieces to deal with became less of an issue.
The Spice Level was not OTT, the Seasoning, as one would expect in a Hector Curry, was perfect. With Methi and Coriander, the Masala was Herb-rich. The Lemon Juice from the Marinade had also survived all the cooking, freezing and reheating, this Karahi had a distinctive – Tang. That the Lemon had permeated the Meat should confirm that the original Spices had correspondingly done their job. Meat which gives off Flavour is surely what defines a quality Curry?
My admission – it still tasted like a Hector Curry!