Jardalu Boti - Lamb with Apricots

Friday, 18th May 2013

Indian Cookbook p 433. Brown onions then add ginger and garlic and cook for a few minutes, then cinnamon sticks and cardamon pods. Then chilli powder, cumin, a little water and chopped tomatoes. Then diced lamb, black pepper and garam masala. Cook gently for 2 hours and add a little hot water if necessary. Add chopped apricots, a little sugar and a sprinkling of vinegar. Heat through and serve.
This recipe calls for dried apricots soaked overnight, but I used fresh apricots which worked very well.
Served with green beans, boiled, then stir fried quickly with a asafetida, a few yellow lentils, mustard seeds, lemon juice and cayenne (Madhur Jaffrey's Ulitmate Curry Bible p. 157). The recipe also says two hot chillies, but I left them out and the beans were pleasantly spicy enough.
Very successful.

Braised Goat Shoulder with Beans and Cabbage

Wednesday, 1st May 2013

I used this recipe, but I could only get pinto beans and chinese cabbage. The sauce, the meat and the cabbage came out very well, although a larger piece of meat would have been better. The beans were completely uncooked and awful. I put the left-over beans back in the pot for another two hours cooking and they were still hard. Next time I'll get the right beans!
(After this disappointment, I ordered a cassoulet the next time we were in a suitable restaurant. It came with no beans at all. Whoever heard of cassoulet with no beans??)

Fischcakes

Saturday, 20th April 2013

I looked at several fishcake recipes and constructed a hybrid version for these.
Poach and flake a piece of cod, and mix it with mashed potato, softened onion, a chopped pickled egg, a little cream and seasoning. Form into cakes, dip them in beaten egg and breadcrumbs and then fry on a medium heat until browned on both sides. Serve with double-fried chips and a slightly spicy tomato sauce.
These were amazingly good for something so simple. My partner told me I have her permission to cook them again! :D