This is my take on a Lamb Bhuna inspired by an Anjum Anand recipe but adapted in line with other Bhuna recipes I have cooked over the years. I have cooked this using lamb, mutton and bone in goat; beef could be used but you would have to increase both the cooking time and the amount of stock or water.
If I have any available I will add coriander roots to the initial paste and I generally reduce the sauce so that it coats the meat quite thickly.

Lamb Bhuna by Tempest 63

Ingredients
2 large tomatoes, quartered
30g ginger, peeled, roughly chopped
8 large garlic cloves, peeled, roughly chopped
2-4 green chillies
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1kg diced boneless lamb shoulder
20 black peppercorns
2 Tej Patta (Indian bay leaves)
5 cloves
2” stick cinnamon
4 green cardamom pods
2 black cardamom pods
2 large onions, roughly chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs ground coriander
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
250 ml stock (lamb or beef)
Juice of half a lemon
1 cup coriander leaves


Method
Put tomatoes, ginger, garlic and chillies in a blender with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water and process to a smooth paste.

In a non-stick pan heat half the oil over a high heat and brown the lamb, in batches, for 4-5 minutes, getting a good colour on all sides. 

Remove the lamb from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Heat the remaining oil over a medium heat add the whole spices and onions. Cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes or until the onion is well browned. Return the lamb and any collected juices to the pan with the ground spices and stir until the spices lose their raw aroma, add the tomato/ginger/garlic/chilli paste, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer stirring regularly for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half. 

Increase heat to high and stir fry until all the excess moisture has evaporated. This really intensifies the flavours.

Add the stock, bring to the boil and cover with a lid. Reduce heat to low and simmer for another 20-30 minutes, or until the lamb is tender. Uncover and raise the heat until the sauce has thickened and coats the meat. Add the lemon juice and season to taste. Serve topped with the chopped coriander.

Is anyone thinking of using the 5 days of Diwali as an excuse to cook up a few curries?
Dhanteras Is The First Day Of The Diwali Festival on Friday, November 10, 2023.
The third day Sunday, 12th November, lends Diwali the nickname "Festival of Lights”.
Diwali's Fifth Day - Bhai Dooj/Vishwakarma Puja is November 15.

My family are attending the Remembrance Day parade in our town on Sunday 12th so I will celebrate/combine both occasions with an Indian themed lunch.

Happy Diwali!

https://timesproperty.com/news/post/5-days-of-diwali-2023-in-india-blid3197#3

T63

My wife and son don't like tarka dal - they find it "too dry".

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for a lentil curry that I could cook instead of tarka dal?

Kabuli Chana recipe from Mrs Balbir Singh's Indian Cookery. It is, without doubt, the best Dhal Recipe that I have in my repetoire and goes down very well with guests as a side dish at any dinner party.

Chana Dhal (to be started the day before it is required)
250g Chana Dhal
720ml water
1.5 teaspoons salt
4 green chillies, 2 whole and 2 chopped
1 inch piece of cinnamon
Seeds of 3 brown cardamoms
4 cloves
0.5 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
15g fresh root ginger finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped
80g ghee
0.5 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 small onion finely chopped, about 160g before peeling
2 to 3 firm tomatoes roughly chopped (I use plum tomatoes)
0.5 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

Place the Dhal in a large jug and fill with water, swill around until the water turns very milky then drain. Repeat until the water is reasonably clear, drain the Dhal and cover with 720ml of fresh water and leave to stand overnight.

Break up the cinnamon stick and place it in a hot dry frying pan with the cardamom seeds, cloves, cumin and coriander seeds. Dry fry over a medium heat for a few minutes until they become aromatic; take care not to let them burn. Transfer to a pestle and mortar or a spice mill and grind to a fine powder. To the ground spices add the chopped chillies, ginger and garlic and enough water to grind or process to a paste.

Place the Dhal and its soaking water into a saucepan with the two whole chillies and a teaspoon of salt and bring to a simmer. Remove any scum that rises to the top and simmer covered until the Dhal is tender but retains a little bite (al-dente).

Drain the Dhal reserving the stock that has formed, wipe out the saucepan and add the ghee. When it is hot add the chopped onion and fry until it is golden. Remove the pan from the heat and add the red chilli powder. Stir until it is fully incorporated then return the pan to the heat. Gradually add two tablespoons of water, a little at a time allowing it to bubble up and cook off each time.

Add the spice paste and fry for five minutes until the raw smell is cooked out and the ghee separates and rises to the top of the masala. Add the roughly chopped tomatoes and stir them in. Cover the pan and let the tomatoes simmer until they break down and form a homogenous mixture with the masala.

Add the boiled Dhal and stir to mix thoroughly with the masala. Stir over a medium heat for ten minutes gradually incorporating the stock. Cover and simmer over a low heat for twenty minutes. Check for seasoning and add the remaining salt as required. Sprinkle with garam masala and chopped fresh coriander then serve.

A pinch of Asafoetida in the hot ghee before adding the onion is supposed to aid digestion of the dhal.

For those who like a garlic sauce with their Donner Kebab, I found this small batch Lebanese Garlic Sauce (Toum) at this site.
http://chichoskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/04/toum-garlic-lebanese-sauce-recipe.html

If you’ve ever made Toum most recipes call for a cup or more of garlic, 3 cups of neutral oil with lemon juice and salt in good measures. Only for it to split at the last moment
This Toum is made from only 5 cloves of garlic and one cup of oil. It does have 1 egg white which is a little unusual.
Having made it for the first time today in a few short minutes I am really pleased with the result, it is the lightest and creamiest recipe for Toum that I have used.
I made mine in this small Kitchen Aid (a gift from the kids) which has a small well in the top that allows the oil to drip in at the right speed. I kept the mini-chopper at the lowest speed setting throughout.

https://www.kitchenaid.co.uk/food-processors/859794315020/mini-food-chopper-830ml-5kfc3516-onyx-black

Ingredients:
5 cloves of garlic
1 egg white
1 cup of neutral oil (sunflower is fine)
Juice of 1 lemon
a good pinch of salt
1 cup of iced water of which you will use around 2 tbsp

Put the garlic cloves along with salt and 1/4 of the lemon juice in the blender. Blend on medium and scrape the sides down when the garlic goes flying everywhere. Add the egg white and blend on medium.
Add half the oil in bit by bit. A thin stream is not necessary, but don’t go crazy. A reasonable, fine, steady pour is good.

At this stage, the emulsification should have taken place. If it hasn’t and the sauce looks like it has split, then something has gone wrong. You may need to remove half the amount, add another egg white, whizz away and re-pour what had already split. But if you take it slow without pouring the oil too quickly, it should be fine.

Switch to a slow blend, and add the rest of the lemon juice in slowly too.
Add the rest of the oil in the same fashion.
Add 1 or 2 tbsp of water. You will see the consistency change into something wonderfully creamy and light.

As to "I don’t believe I have ever set foot in a Lidl ", I suppose if one has Fortnum's, Harrod's and Selfridge's on one's doorstep, one has little need for Aldi or Lidl, but for those of us banished to the colonies (read: Cornwall), one has little option ...
--
** Phil.

Never set foot in Fortnum’s (I don’t even know where it is) as for Harrods and Selfridges, read Tesco and Sainsbury’s. Admittedly I like Waitrose and M&S but there is no Waitrose within ten miles of us and we venture into M&S only when there are certain products we are after.