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BIR Lamb Chettinad

BIR Lamb Chettinad is a modern British recipe (from British Indian Restaurants) for a classic flavourful (but still fairly spice) curry of lamb in a tomato base with jaggery and coconut cream. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: BIR Lamb Chettinad.

prep time

5 minutes

cook time

15 minutes

Total Time:

20 minutes

Serves:

2

Rating:

Tags : CurryBIR CurriesChilli RecipesSpice RecipesLamb RecipesBritish Recipes

A Chettinad is really a fusion style of curry that blends the strong flavours and tastes of the Southern Indian Tamil region with a westernized style of quick curry cooking. As, traditionally few vegetables are added during cooking it turns out more of a curried meat stew. As the name suggests, the style originates in Chettinad, from the the southern Tamil region of India. Historically, being a trading area Chettinad is famed for producing quite distinctive food, mixing various Asian spices to form curries and stews that taste sublime.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp spice-infused oil
A generous handful of whole fresh curry leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
20 dried Kashmiri chillies
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 onion, sliced finely
1 tbsp curry mix powder
2 tbsp Home-made tomato puree diluted with 3 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp grated jaggery or white sugar
1 tbsp coconut cream
300g (2/3 lb) pre-cooked lamb
500ml (2 cups) base curry sauce or Indian restaurant curry base (warmed just to boiling)

Method:

Take a wok or curry pan and place over high heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the curry leaves and fry for around 2 minutes until the leaves turn dark and crisp-up slightly.

Once the curry leaves turn fragrant add the cinnamon, star anise, fennel, chillies and cumin seeds. Fry for about 1 minute until they begin to darken (however take care they don’t burn or the curry will become bitter).

Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and fry for 30 seconds then add the onion and cook for about 6 minutes until it begins to caramelize. Scatter over the mixed powder and fry for 1 minute before adding the diluted tomato purée and the jaggery. Stir well to combine and continue frying until thick bubbles form around the sides of the pan and the masala paste thickens.

Stir in the coconut cream and continue cooking for 4 minutes, until the coconut cream ‘cracks’ and darkens. You will end up with a super-rich sauce.

Add the cooked lamb. Toss to coat in the masala then stir in 250ml (1 cup) of the base gravy. Bring to a simmer and cook until you have a thick sauce. At this point, stir in the remaining base gravy. Return to a simmer and continue cooking your lamb Chettinad until the gravy reaches your desired thickness.

Turn into a warmed serving dish and serve accompanied with plain white rice or a naan bread.