Anjula Devi’s Lamb Shanks Cooked in Yogurt

COOK: 4 hours and 40 minutes

SERVES: 6

Ingredients
6 medium size lamb shanks

Key Spices
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
½ tsp black peppercorns
1 1 inch piece of cassia bark
1 Indian bay leaf
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli flakes

Warming Spices
8 cardamoms, lightly bashed
2 black cardamom, lightly bashed
1 tsp fennel seeds 8 fresh curry leaves
2 tsp fenugreek leaves, soaked in 4 tbs hot water

Other Spices
1 tsp ajwain seeds
1 tsp asafoetida
6 Kashmiri whole chillies

Wet Ingredients
4 tbs groundnut oil
2 large onions, chopped finely
300 g good quality chopped tinned tomatoes
2 tsp pulped garlic
2 tsp pulped ginger
4 green chillies, pierced 250 ml natural yogurt, whisked with 1/4 pint of water
1 small bunch coriander, chopped including the stalks
1 small bunch fresh mint, chopped
1 tsp jaggery
Rock salt or salt flakes to taste

Method:

Take a small dry frying pan, set on a low heat, and warm through the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, brown mustard seeds, black peppercorns and ajwain seeds until fragrant. This should take 1 minute, as you are just trying to tease the oil out of the spices. Remove from the heat, add to the pestle and mortar and grind coarsely.

Take a large sauté pan, add the oil and warm on a low heat. Then add the onions, cassia bark, Indian bay leaf, asafoetida, Kashmiri chillies and salt to taste. Sauté for 5 minutes.

Add the turmeric and red chilli flakes, stir and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and jaggery, and continue to sauté for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

By cooking these ingredients for a little longer, your curry will definitely taste better.

Now add the garlic, ginger and green chillies, and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add the contents of the pestle and mortar, stir well, and sauté for about 10 minutes, until you see that the mixture resembles a paste.

If the paste becomes a little dry and sticks to the pan, then just add a little water whenever you need, to help you achieve the required consistency.

Add the lamb shanks and coat well with all the spices, cook on a high heat for 5 minutes.

Add the whisked yogurt and water and bring to the boil.

Reduce to a very low simmer, place the lid on the pan and cook for 4 hours.

In the last hour of cooking, take a dry frying pan and roast the warming spices until fragrant, and add to the lamb shanks.

Once the shanks are completely tender and are falling off the bone, switch off the heat. Remember to count in the cardamoms and count them out again. 

Add the fresh coriander and mint.

Serve with rice or chapattis.