Lamb meat is without doubt one of the finest food items available for gourmet. Foodies can choose to have lamb in the form of juicy and spicy kebabs, or prepare a fine lamb curry and have it with rice. People who have tasted lamb will like it any form, whether it is grilled, baked or even roasted. So, if you are really keen to relish the goodness of lamb meat, hereâs a better way to do that. Consider preparing lamb stew for a change. This recipe is simple and can be easily prepared on a stove-top or even in a cooker. Here’s how you should go about cooking lamb stew.
Complexity Level: Moderate
Time Required: 1 hour 30 minutes
Resources Required:
- Two tablespoons sunflower oil/any other mild oil
- Two cloves of garlic, Peel and crush them and keep them aside
- One peeled and diced onion
- Tomato juice (Preferably one can)
- One large piece of carrot that should be cut into pieces
- Three leafy stems of coriander
- One Kilogram of lamb shoulder meat that has to be cut into pieces.
- 1 teaspoon of chili powder (to taste)
- Pepper and salt to taste
- One cup of water
- Two potatoes peeled and cut properly into small piece
- One teaspoon curry powder
- One teaspoon cumin seeds
Instructions:
1. Preparing the meat: You first need to dry the lamb meat using a paper towel. If you follow this procedure then it will help the lamb pieces to turn brown. Following this, you need to heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy and large pot similar to a Dutch oven. Be careful to heat the oil on medium temperature. When this pot has turned hot, you will have to add the pieces of lamb one by one. Keep in mind that you donât have to overcrowd the pieces in the pot. Continue cooking till the lamb pieces turn brown on all the sides for a good six to eight minutes. Once they are cooked, you must transfer them into a separate bowl.
2. Adding flavor: Now is the time to add flavor. Use the same pot and put it on medium temperature. Now add onions, red bell pepper and dried pepper and stir so that they mix well in the oil in the pot. Stir this mixture on regular intervals for at least five minutes and then add garlic to the pot and cook it for a minute.
3. Preparing the bouquet garni: The next step is to prepare a bouquet garni. For this, you will have to place parsley, bay leaf and thyme right in the center portion of a piece of cheesecloth that has been double-folded. Now, gather the ends of this cheesecloth piece and tie a kitchen string around.
4. Add more flavors: You will now have to add cumin, cardamom and paprika to the pot and cook it all up for at least one minute. Now, add the tomato puree, chicken stock, raisins, lamb pieces, and finally the bouquet garni. Bring all these ingredients to a boil over high heat and once it starts boiling then reduce the temperature and cook on low heat. Continue cooking, covering the stew partially until the lamb pieces become tender.
5. Prepare for serving: You can use pepper and salt for seasoning and then serve the stew along with rice or couscous.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do I make Somali lamb stew?
Heat olive oil in a large and heavy pot and put chopped onion in it for frying till the time it begins to turn brown. Now, add coriander and garlic and continue to fry it for at least one minute. Following this, you need to add tomatoes and stir and cook them for another five minutes over moderate temperatures. Now, add the lamb pieces, pepper, salt as well as chilli powder and continue cooking for another fifteen minutes. Once done, you will have to add water, potato (or even kumra), cumin, carrot, cumin seeds, and curry powder. Continue to cook on low heat till the time the lamb is tender. This will take about one and a half hours time. You can also take the lid off thirty minutes before the end to let some of the juices evaporate. This will give you your favorite Somali Lamb Stew.
Quick Tips:
- You can add a variety of vegetables to your stew in order to personalize it and prepare it to your taste.
- You can use the hot Hungarian paprika to add more flavor to your stew. This particular paprika is not the usual Paprika from Hungry that tastes sweet and is also mild at the same time. This one is hotter when compared to cayenne.
Things To Watch Out For:
- Follow the instructions in order to prevent adding too much liquid to the recipe, which will alter the results.
- If you want your lamb stew to be highly flavored then you can consider using less cost lamb pieces that have bones in them. You can always remove these bones before you plan to serve the stew.
- Remember to collect lamb pieces that contain fat in them.
- Those who cannot find hot paprika in the market can easily use half portion of sweet paprika and half chili powder.
