Masala mutton shanks with lemon rice

Ingredients

For the curry

• 4 mutton shanks
• 1 tbsp ground turmeric
• 3cm/1in piece root ginger, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• pinch salt
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 cloves
• 6 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 x 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tsp ground coriander
• 2 green chillies, halved
• 1 small bunch coriander

For the curry paste

• 50g/2oz desiccated coconut
• 3 tbsp coriander seeds
• 5 tbsp poppy seeds
• 2 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 5 red chillies

For the rice

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tsp chana dal
• 3 tbsp cashew nuts
• 1 tsp curry leaves
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp powdered asafoetida
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 500g/1lb cooked basmati rice (about 350g/12oz dry weight)
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 bunch coriander, roughly chopped

Method

1. Place the mutton shanks in a large saucepan with the turmeric, ginger, garlic and some salt.

2. Add enough water to cover and simmer gently for 1½ hours or until the meat is tender.

3. Meanwhile, grind all the curry paste ingredients together in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar. Set aside until required.

4. For the curry, heat two tablespoons of the sunflower oil in a large deep frying pan and add the bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and fry until aromatic.

5. Add the onion and fry until it is softened, but not coloured.

6. Add the tomato and cook for five minutes, then add the cumin, coriander and green chillies and cook for a further three minutes.

7. Add the curry paste to the frying pan and cook for another two minutes, before adding the cooked mutton, salt to taste and enough of the mutton cooking water to come halfway up the shanks. Cook for another 20 minutes, turning the shanks over several times during cooking and adding more of the mutton cooking water if the sauce gets too thick.

8. For the rice, heat a frying pan until hot and add the sunflower oil.

9. Add the mustard seeds and chana dal and fry until they start to pop, taking care as the oil may splatter.

10. Add the cashew nuts, curry leaves, turmeric, asafoetida and ginger and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.

11. Finally add the cooked rice and lemon juice and cook until hot all the way through.

12. Serve the mutton with a spoonful of rice and sprinkle with coriander.

Source: BBC