Sunday, 16 July 2017

Lamb Dishes


Australian lamb is the best in the world, it is very high-quality meat, tender and less fat.  There is no disappointment to cook the lamb.  I cook lamb meat for particular dishes. The lamb chops are for BBQ, the leg is delicious for roasting, and the shanks are perfect and succulent for braising.  However using the leg of lamb for curry is good too, instead of using a leg of goat as the traditional curry in Java Gulai Kambing. Lamb mincemeat with cumin to make meatballs and fried served with yoghurt is delicious. The favourite is a roast lamb for Sunday Best.

 My Kitchen

Gulai Kambing-Lamb Curry Javanese Style

The recipe for this lamb curry using a leg of a goat is in the older post.  Type gulai kambing to search.



Gulai Kambing using the lamb shanks
Gulai Kikil (Javanese  curry lamb shanks)
Herbs and Spices


The Lamb Shanks
Pan-frying the spices and braising the shanks
The lamb shanks are cooked

Serving
Ingredients:
4-6 lamb shanks, 2 tablespoons tamarind juice
(rub the legs with the sauce, keep aside)
2 cups water or stock
1 tin coconut milk (400 mils)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (for sauteing the spices and herbs and also for pan-frying the shanks)

Herbs: 5 kaffir lime leaves, 1 lemongrass.  Juice of a lime.
Spices: 3 cloves garlic,  2 large shallots (or a small onion), a slice of fresh ginger and galangal, some kencur (can be purchased in Asian grocery stores), 1 heap  tablespoon of turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, *1 teaspoon ginger powder, 1 teaspoon chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cloves powder, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 6 candlenuts.
Grind the coriander seeds, and mix with all spices, put in the grinder or food processor, process them to make a smooth paste.
* I use both ginger powder and also fresh ginger, you cannot omit the fresh ginger, but you can go without the ginger powder.

Salt, sugar (brown sugar or coconut sugar) about 2 teaspoons each.

Fried shallot and fresh chopped parsley or coriander leave to garnish.

Method:
In a heavy-based pot, fry the spice paste with oil until fragrant, add in the fresh herbs, the juice of a lime.  Add the shanks, and let them cook for a few minutes.  Stir in the water or stock, and add in salt, sugar, cover the pot and cook to braise for one hour over medium heat.  At this point, add in the coconut milk and continue cooking over low heat for another hour.  Total cooking at least two hours.
The shanks are very tender and juicy in a vibrant and golden spiced coconut sauce.

To serve the dish, only with steamed white rice, acar and krupuk udang (prawn crackers) for its accompaniments.



Delicious Braised Lamb Shanks
It is suitable for Autumn cooking or Wintertime.


Mix fruits for Braising the lamb shanks

Freshly Baked Braised Lamb Shanks
The recipe:




Susy's Braised Lamb Shanks

fresh fruit for braising the shanks
2 lamb shanks
Mix fruits: 
1/2 cup red grapes
1/2 red apple, sliced
2 nectarines, seeded and halved
1 red plum
1 tablespoon turmeric
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
Method
  1. Place the fruits in a casserole dish.
  2. Sprinkle with half of the turmeric
  3. Lay the shanks on top, and sprinkle the rest of the turmeric over
  4. Add the salt, oil and water.
  5. Cover the casserole dish
  6. Bake in the slow oven, 160 degrees for 25 minutes
  7. Reduce the heat to 145 degrees C, keep on cooking for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
  8. Take out from the oven, open the lid very carefully, the steam is hot.
  9. Turn the shank over, then cover again.  Put aside until serving time.
Enjoy and try to cook braised shanks,  adjust the recipe if you wish to prepare for a family of six.  You may have to 



Roast Lamb
Roast lamb is the best for family dinner, I cooked this for an Easter, and it was a success.  The recipe, please look on an older post, type-roast leg of lamb to search.




Other dishes of the leg of lamb with a different method of cooking.  One is roasted and added some stock, and the other one is placed on a trinket to roast.
Roasting Australian Lamb
 
The Great Roast of Australian Lamb
Juice and Succulent

Basting the Roast Lamb
Cooking the meat regularly to get
an excellent result of roasting.


Other   Way    to    Roast   Leg   of    Lamb
Place the Leg of Lamb of a Rack to Roast



Grilled meat in skewers Javanese Style ( Sate Kocok)

A rapid cooking method, grilled lamb fillet served with a sauce or Sate Kocok

Sate Kocok
(Grilled meat on skewers)

Garnish: sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, shallots or red onion
Shredded kaffir lime leaves
The meat: cubes of the leg of lamb steak about 16, rub in salt and soy
Sate: pierce the meat cubes-8 with bamboo skewers
(it makes 2 skewers)
To cook: Grill the Sate, in the hot heat for a minute each side until cooked.

The dressing
1 tablespoon grated palm sugar or coconut sugar
2 tablespoon water
2 tablespoon sweet soy (kecap manis)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 chilli, crushed
1-2 large limes (the juice only)
Mix together all ingredients, mix until smooth then add the shredded kaffir leaves.

Dressing and Garnish for the Sate Kocok (grilled lamb on skewers)
Add some pomelo flesh on the garnish if you like.

Sate Kocok is Served
It is a very appetising dish, the tender grilled lamb 
served with sweet and sour dressing and garnish with vegetables
and juicy pomelo flesh.


Sate kocok is one of my family favourite in Java.  My father and mother loved the dish so much.  We used to have a treat of taking away Sate Kocok, the meat was not a lamb but goat meat.

You can quickly cook the sate on the BBQ, have a try, you may like it, after all, we have the best lamb meat in the world. Small serve and lean meat are needed if you want to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Within a week or two, I would like to pick the two Pomelos.  It keeps well, the longer you store, the better the taste is going to be. 



Lamb and Vegetable Tajine

Cooking Susy's Lamb and Vegetables Stew/Tajine with Cous Cous

the spices for the stew
stewing the shanks & spices
for the first hour and more 

the lamb shanks, veg and spices
cous cous - grain,
chopped preserved lemon , appricots
the vegetables for the stew
cooking couscous
in the couscoussiere

The Recipe
Moroccan Lamb Vegetable Tajine / Stew with Cous Cous 
(Susy's Style)

Ingredients:
2 lamb shanks

dried apricots and preserved lemons

The vegetables:
Pumpkin, broccoli, beans, potatoes, broad beans, carrots, cheek peas 
1/3 cup raw almonds (optional)
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 apricots, 6 dated, chopped
small fresh turmeric, chopped
some saffron
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon dry marjoram
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon dried mint

mild chilli, chopped apricots and dates
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
Oil to saute
6 cups meat stock/water ( or more than 6)
Salt to taste

1 cup couscous
1 tablespoon chopped preserved lemons
4 chopped dried apricots
Chopped fresh coriander, mint or parsley to garnish
Method
In a hot pan, pan-fry the shanks with oil to seal, keep aside
Saute the onion, garlic with oil in the bottom of the couscousiere until soft
Add in the rest of the spices, saffron the water and cook to simmer
Add in the lamb shanks, and cook-bring to simmer again
Continue cooking over medium-high heat for the first half-hour, covered
Lower the heat, add in the dates, apricots, almonds and braise for another hour
After that, add in all the vegetables and continue cooking until the vegetables are a cook
The last 10 minutes of cooking time, you can steam the couscous on top
Check the couscous and add some more water if needed,
Add some chopped apricots, preserved lemons in the couscous, at the last 3minutes of cooking

Total cooking: 2 hours and a half approx
To serve: Serve hot.
Place the couscous on a serving dish
Place the stew on a serving Tajine, and place extra broth in a serving bowl



Serving the Tajine

Serving Stew  And  Cous Cous
serving the stew in a tajine
lamb and vegetable tajine, couscous
and the broth/sauce of the stew
serving the stew in a tajine, the sauce
and couscous in a white tajine



Moroccan food - the tajine/stew is so flavoursome, and the cooking technique is so simple.  Basically, it is a casserole, but it is cooked on top of the stove.

You can cook this dish in any heavy-based pot, you do not need to have a tajine or coucousiere.  To prepare the couscous, you just follow the instruction from the packet, it is widespread now that the shops sell instant couscous.  
Seal the shanks on hot oil first before putting them into the casserole.





Enjoy cooking lamb meat this winter, braising or roasting are suitable for the season.  You may wish to try braised lamb shank, or Gulai Kambing (Javanese Lamb Curry) using lamb shanks, the recipes are here for you.


Until Next Post
Susy

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