Lamb

Mutton Keema Conchiglioni

- monicasawhney 2 Comments


A spicy, carby Indo-Italian Mutton Keema Conchiglioni. It’s what you make and need after returning home from a 44km bike ride ? . Truth be told, I made this dish up as I went along and I’m so happy I did. Oh and in true mashup desi/Indian style, I ate it with my hands and it hit the spot.

I also had no intention of sharing the recipe but when I popped a photo of my dinner up on Instagram (as you do), I had a LOT of followers messaging me for it. So I thought – hey if it’s what the people want then that is what the people shall get!

Conchiglioni are essentially pasta shells and I used the jumbo ones which work well as they catch all the lovely keema inside to create mini parcels of spicy deliciousness. If you can’t source them, you can of course use whatever pasta you like!

Mutton Keema Conchiglioni

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Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 300 g Conchiglioni (jumbo pasta shells) or a pasta of your choice
  • 7-8 tbsp oil
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 4 cloves crushed into a coarse powder
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2" piece of a cinnamon stick
  • 400 g minced mutton/lamb
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 large onion (180g) finely diced
  • 3 cloves garlic grated
  • 6 tbsp tomato passata
  • 2 tsp double concentrate tomato puree
  • 2 green chilies finely chopped
  • 3/4-1 tsp salt or according to taste
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • Handful fresh coriander chopped

Instructions
 

  • To make the mutton keema:
  • Heat oil in a pan. Once hot, add the bay leaves, crushed cloves and cumin seeds.
  • Then add the mince along with the salt and garam masala. Mix well and cook on a medium heat for 7-8 minutes or until the mince has changed colour and is completely cooked.
  • Remove the cooked mince from the pan with a slotted spoon, draining the oil as much as possible – we will be cooking the masala in this oil.
  • Reheat the oil in the pan and add the diced onions as well as the garlic. If you feel like the pan is a looking a little dry, you can add a little more oil.
  • Add 1/2 tsp salt to the pan and cook on a medium heat for 6-7 minutes. Once you see the paste has turned light golden in colour add 3-4 tbsp water and continue to cook for 7-8 minutes on a low/medium heat until deep golden. If it ever catches, add a splash of water or a little more oil.
  • Now add the pasata and tomato puree as well as the chillies. Cook for a minute then reduce the heat.
  • At this point add the remaining salt and the sugar as well as all of the dry spices. Cook for 30 seconds or so. When you see the oil separate from the masala, add the cooked keema and add about 30ml water (you can also use the pasta water if you are cooking simultaneously). Place a lid on the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes.

To make the pasta:

  • Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta . Stir occasionally and simmer on a moderate heat until the pasta is cooked (jumbo conchiglioni require about 15 minutes). Once cooked, drain immediately.
  • Add the cooked pasta to the keema as well as the fresh coriander and mix well. Taste for salt/chilli and adjust accordingly. Serve immediately!

Channa Dal Keema Mattar

- monicasawhney

Keema Mattar is one of my favourites. This recipe is cooked with channa dal (optional) which add delicious nuttiness and a lovely bite. I love to mop it up with hot buttery chapatis and sometimes with a fried egg on the side when I feel like I need an extra hug in the stomach department!

When I fancy something lighter I sometimes make keema lettuce wraps and sometime swap out the lamb for quorn (which also works a treat!).

There was no live cookery class this week but I shall be back next Friday, 15th May cooking up another delicious storm on my Facebook page so I hope to see you then. Until then, enjoy the below recipe!

Keema Mattar with Channa Dal

monicasawhney
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Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 6-7 tbsp oil for cooking
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 black cardamom coarsely crushed, optional
  • 2 green cardamoms coarsely crushed, optional
  • 2" “ piece of cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 medium onion (150g) cut into small rough chunks
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1" ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt or according to taste
  • 1 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 5 tbsp tomato passata
  • 1 tsp double concentrate tomato puree
  • 2 birds eye green chillies sliced vertically in half
  • 400g lamb/mutton/quorn mince
  • 5 tbsp peas defrosted
  • 2 small potatoes cooked, peeled and cut into bite size chunks
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt or according to taste
  • 150 g channa dal lentils soaked & boiled with salt for 45 minutes or until tender** – optional
  • 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • Large handful coriander
  • Juice of ¼ lime optional

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oil in a pan. Blitz the onion, ginger and garlic, together in a food processor until coarsely ground together. Once the oil is hot, add the bay leaves, crushed cardamoms, cinnamon stick and cumin seeds to the pan.
  • Now add the ground paste to the pan and cook on a medium heat for 6-7 minutes. Once you see the paste has turned golden in colour add 3-4 tbsp water and continue to cook for 7-8 minutes on a low/medium heat. If it ever catches, add a splash of water or a little more oil.
  • Now add the salt, paprika, turmeric and garam masala. Cook for a minute and then add the pasata and tomato puree as well as the chillies. When you see the oil separate from the masala, add the lamb/mutton/quorn mince and cook for 4-5 minutes or until you see the colour change. Then add the peas, potato, channa dal as well as the remaining spices and sugar. Mix well.
  • Add 1 cup of water then place a lid on top and cook for a further 10 minutes on a medium heat, stirring every few minutes.
  • Finish with the coriander as well as the lime juice. Taste for salt/chilli and adjust accordingly.

Notes

*I cooked the dal exactly as I did for the lentils in my tadka recipe which can be found here. You can soak the channa lentils for 3-4 hours for warm water to help soften but it’s not essential. 

Roasted Gosht Palak Lamb Spinach Curry

- monicasawhney

This slow roasted Lamb Gosht Palak was the star of the show at my recent Mughlai cookery class. Marinated lamb roasted in whole spices and a glorious caramelised rich masala. 3 words = melt in mouth. A dish fit for a Moghul King or Queen ????. When I posted a snap of this on instagram and facebook, I didn’t expect so many requests for the recipe. (I also didn’t realise the pool of green spinach would turn out to be so photogenic). Thankfully this dish tastes as good as it looks so enjoy the recipe. Pop a comment or share a photo of your recreation if you make it!

Roasted Gosht Palak Lamb Spinach Curry

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Servings 4

Ingredients
  

For the marinade:

  • 850 g leg of lamb boneless cut into 2” chunks
  • 4 tbsp yoghurt
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garam masala

To cook the lamb:

  • 5 tbsp ghee or oil
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 4 green cardamoms crushed open
  • 1 black cardamom crushed open
  • 3 cms cinnamon stick
  • 4 cloves
  • 3 medium onions thinly sliced
  • 8 cloves garlic grated
  • 3 ” ginger grated
  • 1 ½ tsp salt or according to taste
  • 6 tbsp tomato passata
  • 2 green chillies finely chopped
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 ½ tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 250 g fresh spinach

Instructions
 

  • • Place all the ingredients in the “marinade ingredients” list in a bowl. Mix together & cover. Ideally allow the lamb to marinate for 24 hours. If not, overnight is acceptable.
    • Pre-heat oven at 220*C. Heat ghee/oil in a pan. Once hot, add the bay leaves, green and black cardamoms, cinnamon stick and cloves. They should begin to splatter immediately.
    • Now add the onions and cook until translucent-this should take about 4-5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic at this point and cook on a medium heat for a further 10-12 minutes or until they turn fully golden brown.
    • Now add the tomato pasata along with the green chilli. Cook for a further minute. Reduce the heat and then add the salt and all of the dry spice powders and cook for 2 minutes.
    • Now add the marinated lamb to the pan. Cook on a medium/high heat, mixing continuously for 5 minutes or until it begins to seal.
    • Now transfer to an ovenproof pan. Add enough water so the lamb is completely covered and place in oven. After 30 minutes, give the lamb curry a mix and reduce temperature to 180*C and place a lid on top.
    • Bring half a cup of pan of water to the boil. Place the spinach in the pan and as soon as it is wilted (should take about 2 minutes) remove and drain using a sieve. Place in a food processor and blitz into a paste. 
    • Once the lamb has been cooking an hour, add the wilted spinach and then cook for a further 45-60 minutes or until the lamb is tender. (If you ever see that the lamb curry is looking a little dry, you can add some water). 
    • Remove from oven. Taste for salt/chilli and adjust accordingly. Finish with fresh coriander.

Notes

 Feel free to pick out the whole spices before serving.
If you want to slow roast, after the first 30 minutes, drop the temperature to 175c and cook for 3-4 hours (checking on it every 40 minutes or so).