Lamb Squash Curry-Punjabi Special Recipes

                 Lamb Squash Curry

I don't think I even have seen lamb squash curry in any of my recipe books. There are a couple of recipes on the online, some using minced lamb, but it just struck me as a kind of obvious combination to make a pleasant warming winter dish. Squashes of all sorts teem in India and are utilized in many vegetable dishes, they vary considerably in taste and most of the Indian varieties aren't generally available. But really any kind of squash or pumpkin type vegetable will do.

I particularly like butternut squash and this with the lamb really complement one another to offer you a stunning sweet comforting stew.

This is a Northern Indian sort of dish and is actually a kind of korma. (Korma simply means 'braised' and there's no direct association with nuts and cream as Western Indian Restaurants would have you ever believe). It is a fairly simple recipe to prepare but should be braised slowly for some time.

Ingredients

¾lb (325g) lamb

¾lb (325g) squash

1 large onion

3 cloves garlic

1inch (2.5cm) root ginger

Fresh chilli

A few curry leaves (Optional)

Juice of 1 lime

½ teaspoon amchoor

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons yoghurt

Oil for frying

Coriander leaves to garnish

2 teaspoons coriander seed

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1 teaspoon fenugreek seed

1 inch(2.5cm) stick cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ajwain seed (Optional)

½ teaspoon mustard seed

preparing Ingredients

Lamb. this will be any cut of lamb really (or mutton or goat). It can stand a touch of fat on this dish so doesn't need to be totally lean, something like shoulder with the surplus fat trimmed off.

Squash. Butternut squash is basically nice for this but you'll use other squashes. I have seen a couple of lamb squash curry recipes with a mix of squashes.

Chilli. I prefer to use fresh chilli during this but dried or maybe chilli powder is OK. Quantity and type are up to your taste.

Oil. Ghee is best for this and mustard oil is additionally excellent, but any normal vegetable oil will do.

Cumin. I usually use black cumin during this but normal cumin is ok.

Spices. I chose this particular mixture of spices and it seems to works well, but this is often a curry dish that you simply can subtly change by using different combinations - for instance, use about 4 or 5 cardamom pods rather than the fenugreek.

preparing Method

Cut the sheep into around 1 inch (2.5cm) 3D shapes

Sprinkle this with salt, amchoor and juice, mixing well and leave to marinate while you prepare the remainder of the ingredients.

Peel the squash and dig cubes an equivalent size because of the lamb.

Peel and finely chop the onion.

Peel and mince the garlic and ginger.

Chop up the chilli.

Roast all the spices during a dry frypan for a moment then grind to a fine powder.

Heat the oil during a heavy-bottomed pan which features a lid.

Put within the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli and fry for a moment on high heat.

Turn down the warmth and still cook the onions until they're really soft - about 10 minutes.

Add the spices and stir in continuing to cook for an additional few minutes.

Crush in the curry leaves.

Turn up the heat and add the lamb.

Cook on high warmth for around 5 minutes to seal the meat, mix constantly.

Turn the heat right down to simmer.

Allow simmering for a few minutes then add the yoghurt and stir in.

Put in the squash and mix in thoroughly.

Cover with a tight-fitting lid and leave to simmer for an hour or so stirring occasionally.

Tip into a serving dish and garnish with coriander leaves.

preparing Method

Not much to say about this one. The dish will look a touch dry to start out with after the squash has been added it'll need stirring very often initially. Keep the lid on and therefore the squash kind of excludes moisture into the dish until it becomes a stunning juicy lamb squash curry.