Coconut Milk Curry Braised Boneless Lamb

Background: 

Valentine's day is upon us! As we spend time inside let's make it a memorable one. We partnered with our favorite PA gal Veda Sankaran to work on this amazing braised lamb recipe. This one takes a little of extra prep but the flavor is unreal. Pour a special beverage, and take your tastes buds on a journey. 

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless leg of lamb
• 5 cardamom pods
• 3 cloves
• 2” cinnamon
• 1 tsp black peppercorn
• 2 small star anise
• ⅓ up finely chopped onion
• oil for sautéing 
• 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
• ¾ tsp tamarind paste
• 1 ½ tsp dark brown sugar
• 2 cups chicken broth
• ¼-½ tsp salt

For curry paste: 

• 1 cup white onion diced
• 5 thai red chilies
• 6 large or 8 medium cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp peeled and minced ginger root
• 15 curry leaves chopped
• 5 Guntur Sannam chilies or 2-3 regular dried red chilies, soaked in hot water
• zest of 1 lime

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2. Place all the ingredients for the curry paste in a small blender container. Blend until everything combines into a paste and set aside. 

3. Heat a small skillet and a tablespoon of oil to lightly coat the bottom. Add the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorn and star anise. Lightly toast the whole spices.

4. Then add a little more oil in the skillet before placing in the ⅓ cup of finely chopped onions. Sprinkle a little salt and sauté until lightly golden.

5. When onions reach this stage, add the blended curry paste along with about 2 tbsp of oil and cook it until it darkens and becomes fragrant. Take it off the heat and let cool.

6. Place your washed and patted dry boneless lamb in a heavy bottomed ovenproof pot. Rub the cooled curry paste all over the lamb. 

7. Stir the tamarind paste with about ¼ cup of the coconut milk, the brown sugar, and salt. Pour this over the lamb. Then pour the remaining coconut milk along with the chicken broth over and around the lamb.

8. Cover with a lid or seal tightly with aluminum foil, before placing in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. After half an hour, reduce the heat to 325 degrees and cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours. After  1½ hours, check to see if the lamb is fork tender. If it isn’t, cook until it reaches that texture. 

9. Remove from the oven and taste the sauce for salt and add more if necessary. 

10. Serve over Jasmine rice or with a side of crusty bread. 

11. Note: Guntur Sannam chilies are a variety that are not quite as spicy as the ones normally found in Indian grocery stores. If you cannot find this variety, then use fewer of the other chili.

Veda Sankaran 

Recipe Developer - Owner Jalsa By Veda

Veda is an Indian American mom, wife, teacher, and business woman living in Pittsburgh. Her professional background is in education, but she developed a love of food after 20+ years of cooking for her family. She cooks traditional Indian food, and her strength lies in creativity. She can take spices and flavors of Indian cuisine and use them to create new and unique recipes. Through constant recipe development and creating menus for local pop up dinners in Pittsburgh, she gives reigns to her creativity to use food as a medium for exploring the many facets of identity.

Find her on instagram @jalsabyveda