Tayyabs Dry Meat Curry Recipe
"House specialty of one of my favorite London restaurants."
- Ready In:
- 3hrs
- Ingredients:
- 29
- Serves:
-
2-3
ingredients
- 500 g leg of lamb, boneless, cut into 2 1/2 cm cubes
-
marinade
- 1 teaspoon chickpea flour
- 20 g garlic paste
- 20 g ginger paste
- 6 green chilies, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 6 tablespoons yogurt
- 1 tablespoon mustard oil
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves, finely chopped
- salt
-
masala paste
- 2 1⁄2 cm cinnamon sticks
- 4 black cardamom pods, crushed
- 4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 8 cloves
- 1 tablespoon coriander seed
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground mace
-
curry
- 6 tablespoons ghee
- 250 g onions, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 500 ml lamb stock
- salt
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 250 g fried onions
directions
- Put the lamb into a shallow dish.
- Mix all marinade ingredients and add the marinade to the lamb. Turn to coat and set aside to marinate in a refrigerator for 24 hours.
- In a frying pan dry-roast over a medium heat all the spices for the masala paste except the red chili and mace powder: cinnamon stick and black cardamom for 3 minutes; green cardamom, cloves, coriander seeds and black peppercorns for 2 minutes; cumin for 1 minute; fenugreek seeds and dry fenugreek leaves for half a minute. Let the spices cool. When cool pound them into a fine powder and mix them with red chili powder, mace powder and some water to make a paste.
- Heat the ghee in a large deep frying pan and add the chopped onions, sugar, and salt. Cook the onions over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened and deep, rich brown. Add the masala paste and fry stirring continuously for a few minutes over medium-high heat until the oil separates from the masala. Add the lamb, together with the marinade, and stir-fry over high heat for 3-5 minutes until well browned. Now add the lamb stock and cook over medium-low heat until the meat is tender and almost all the gravy has dried up.
- Add salt to taste.
- Serve hot, sprinkled with garam masala and fried onion.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
I had the pleasure of enjoying the original dish at Tayyabs in London a few months ago. It was delicious there and it is delicious here (in the US). A few suggestions: 1) Mustard oil is, apparently, not legal here in the US - I substituted Olive Oil and it was fine. 2) I used beef this time for two reasons: my wife is not a fan of lamb and I was worried about wasting a relatively expensive piece of meat on a disaster. Next time I'll make it with lamb and have it all to myself. 3) This dish (as I made it) was quit spicy (and I am a lover of hot food). So it was great for me - not so much for my wife. 4) My local grocer was out of chilli peppers (which is a broad category of peppers anyway) so I used Jalapeños instead. If you are at all weary of the level of spice - cut back the number of chilis. 5) If you're in the US and trying to make this - go to an Indian grocer to get the "unusual" ingredients (Fenugreek leaves/seeds, etc). 6) I mistakenly thought I had enough ghee left at home, but I was wrong so I used butter instead. It was fine - I just was mindful of the temperature because of the difference in smoke points. But I suggest sticking with the ghee! 7) The recipe doesn't really give a good indicator of how long it will take to reduce - that is a key element of this dish. It's not supposed to be a traditional curry where there's a substantial sauce. You cook it down to where the curry/gravy almost drys up completely - this helps concentrate the flavors (and fat) into the meat. If you are a fan of curry - you must try this dish - it's delicious!
Tweaks
-
I had the pleasure of enjoying the original dish at Tayyabs in London a few months ago. It was delicious there and it is delicious here (in the US). A few suggestions: 1) Mustard oil is, apparently, not legal here in the US - I substituted Olive Oil and it was fine. 2) I used beef this time for two reasons: my wife is not a fan of lamb and I was worried about wasting a relatively expensive piece of meat on a disaster. Next time I'll make it with lamb and have it all to myself. 3) This dish (as I made it) was quit spicy (and I am a lover of hot food). So it was great for me - not so much for my wife. 4) My local grocer was out of chilli peppers (which is a broad category of peppers anyway) so I used Jalapeños instead. If you are at all weary of the level of spice - cut back the number of chilis. 5) If you're in the US and trying to make this - go to an Indian grocer to get the "unusual" ingredients (Fenugreek leaves/seeds, etc). 6) I mistakenly thought I had enough ghee left at home, but I was wrong so I used butter instead. It was fine - I just was mindful of the temperature because of the difference in smoke points. But I suggest sticking with the ghee! 7) The recipe doesn't really give a good indicator of how long it will take to reduce - that is a key element of this dish. It's not supposed to be a traditional curry where there's a substantial sauce. You cook it down to where the curry/gravy almost drys up completely - this helps concentrate the flavors (and fat) into the meat. If you are a fan of curry - you must try this dish - it's delicious!
