Savoury Rice with Curried Lamb

Ingredients for Curried Lamb:

450g lamb, cut into small squares
2 tbsp meat curry powder
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp peppercorns, grind coarsely
1 large onion, cut into small squares
2 tomatoes, cut into small squares
1 tbsp plain yoghurt
salt to taste
grind to a fine paste:
- 1 slice (1cm) ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 red chilli
- 1 green chilli
Combine lamb with all the above ingredients and marinate for a while.

2 tbsp ghee
½ onion, slice thinly
2 cups water
4 potatoes, peel and cut into 6 pieces lengthwise

For garnishing:
20-30 cashew nuts, fry in oil till golden brown
1 small bunch big coriander leaves
1 small bunch mint leaves

Method:

Heat ghee in pot and fry sliced onion till golden brown; add marinated meat and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add water, bring to the boil then add potatoes. Cover pot and simmer till meat is tender and the gravy fairly thick.


Ingredients for Rice:

600g Basmati rice, wash and drain
6½ cups (1.6L) water
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ghee

For garnishing:
4 tbsp raisins, fry in ghee
sliced almonds, fry in ghee

Method:

Bring water to the boil, add salt and rice and boil for 10-15 minutes checking often to see if rice is cooked. When rice is cooked, drain, then rinse rice in the strainer by pouring more boiling water over it to remove any excess starch. Mix ghee with rice. Make a ring with rice in an ovenproof dish. Put curried lamb in hollow of ring and bake in a moderate oven for 10 minutes. Garnish rice with raisins and almonds, and curry with cashew nuts, coriander and mint leaves.