Lamb In Spiced Yogurt Sauce With Rice And Bread Recipes

SPICED LAMB AND RICE WITH WALNUTS, MINT AND POMEGRANATE

Steps:

• If using dried chickpeas: Put soaked chickpeas in a saucepan and cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes to an hour, until tender. Top up with water as necessary to keep chickpeas covered. (If using pre-cooked or canned chickpeas, skip this step.)
• Season lamb pieces generously with salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches over high heat, brown the lamb pieces on both sides, removing them to a plate as they are cooked. (Don't crowd the pan or they won't brown nicely.)
• When all the lamb is browned and the pot is empty, reduce heat to medium high. Add onions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add raisins, pomegranate molasses (if using), cumin, coriander, allspice, mace, and cinnamon and stir to coat. Return lamb to the pot, along with any juices.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• If using canned chickpeas, drain well. If using cooked chickpeas, drain and reserve the cooking liquid. Add drained chickpeas and rice to onion mixture and stir together. Turn heat to high and add 2 cups chickpea cooking liquid (or 2 cups water or broth, if using canned chickpeas). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover tightly. Bake about 1 hour, until lamb is tender when probed with a fork and rice is cooked through. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving, or up to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat until it foams. Add walnuts and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Salt lightly and set aside. Fluff the lamb and rice gently, lifting up from the bottom. Serve directly from pot or transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with walnuts, pomegranate seeds, mint and crushed red pepper. Pass a bowl of yogurt at the table.

SPICED MIDDLE EASTERN LAMB PATTIES WITH PITA AND YOGURT

Steps:

• For the sauce:
• In a small bow, whisk the yogurt with the lemon juice. Stir in the chopped herbs, season with salt and refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the patties and pita:
• In a bowl, use your hands to mix together all of the ingredients, except for the pita. Form the mixture into twelve 3-inch oval patties (about 1 inch thick). Arrange the patties on a plate and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until firm
• Preheat a grill for at least 10 minutes and prepare it for grilling over moderately high heat. If you are using a charcoal grill, leave one area where you can grill the pita indirectly.
• Oil the grill grates and grill the patties until dark brown grill marks form on the bottom, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip the patties and grill for 4 to 6 minutes longer, until just cooked through.
• Meanwhile, wrap the pita in foil and set the package on the top shelf of a gas grill or in the cooler spot of a charcoal grill and allow them to warm through, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Wrap 2 or 3 patties in each pita, spoon some of the yogurt sauce alongside and serve with herb sprigs, passing the remaining yogurt sauce at the table.

SPICE-RUBBED LEG OF LAMB WITH HARISSA YOGURT SAUCE

Steps:

• For the lamb: Use paper towels to pat dry the leg of lamb. In a small bowl, combine the salt, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, black pepper and cayenne. Season all sides of the lamb with the spice mixture and place on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Let sit at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes or place in the refrigerator overnight and allow to sit at room temperature for 45 minutes before cooking.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Drizzle the lamb with the olive oil, then roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until the internal temperature is 140 degrees F for medium, about 1 hour and 15 minutes more. Allow to rest before serving, 15 to 20 minutes, then slice.
• For the sauce: Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the harissa, yogurt and honey. Season with salt. Refrigerate until serving.
• For the optional garnish: Garnish with the pomegranate seeds, mint, scallions, good olive oil and sea salt if desired. Serve with the harissa yogurt sauce.

GRILLED LEG OF LAMB WITH SPICY LIME YOGURT SAUCE

Steps:

• Pat lamb dry with paper towels and place it on a rimmed baking sheet. In a bowl, combine oil, herbs, orange zest and juice, the minced garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Rub mixture all over lamb. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate at room temperature for 2 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt if you like.
• Heat the grill. Wipe lamb with paper towels, removing most of the rub, then grill until a digital thermometer reads 120 degrees for rare or 130 for medium (about 6 to 15 minutes per side, depending on how you like your meat and how thick the lamb is). If the meat starts to char before it's done, move it to a cooler part of the grill to finish cooking. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving with the yogurt sauce.

SPICED LAMB AND DILL YOGURT PASTA

Steps:

• Combine egg yolks, kefir, and 1½ cups dill in a blender; finely grate in 1 garlic clove and blend until smooth. Set purée aside. Finely chop remaining 1½ cups dill and set aside separately.
• Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add pine nuts and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add dried currants and cook, stirring often, until plump, about 1 minute. Scrape nut mixture into a small bowl; season with salt.
• Wipe out skillet and heat over medium-high. Stir together cumin, pepper, and 1 tsp. salt in a small bowl. Place lamb in pan and use a sturdy spatula to aggressively flatten (like you're making smash burgers); sprinkle spice mixture over. Cook, undisturbed, until lamb is well browned and crisp underneath, about 4 minutes. Hold back meat and drain off all of the fat. Break up meat into small pieces and mix in reserved nut mixture. Finely grate in remaining 2 garlic cloves and add reserved chopped dill. Cook, stirring, until herbs are wilted, about 1 minute. Set aside until pasta is ready.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute shy of al dente (pasta will finish cooking in the sauce). Drain pasta and return to pot.
• Pour reserved purée over pasta and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens enough to cling to pasta and just comes to a simmer, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; finely grate zest from lemon half over pasta, then squeeze in juice. Season with salt.
• Divide pasta among bowls and top with lamb mixture.

LEG OF LAMB IN A SPICY YOGURT SAUCE

Steps:

• Remove all the fat from the outside of the leg and the white skin, or ask your butcher to do it.
• Put the leg in a baking dish, stainless steel or glass is preferred because of the yogurt marinade.
• Put in your blender or food processor the almonds, onions, garlic, ginger, green chilies and about 3 tablespoons of the yogurt, process to a paste.
• The remaining yogurt you put in a dish, beat lightly until smooth, add the paste and the cumin, coriander, cayenne and garam masala, mix.
• Stab the lamb all over, making good deep cuts.
• Now the fun begins, using your hands push generous amounts of paste in the natural openings of the lamb, then in the cuts you made.
• Spread remaining paste all over and around the lamb, the side that will be up should get a thick layer.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
• When ready to bake, remove the lamb from the fridge and give it enough time to get to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a small pan on a medium flame, when hot add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and peppercorns, when the cloves swell, this just takes seconds pour the hot oil and the spices over the lamb.
• Cover the dish with its own lid or tightly with aluminum foil, bake covered for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• Remove the foil and bake for another 45 minutes or longer if you prefer.
• During this time baste the meat regularly with the sauce.
• Scatter, or make nice pattern, the sultana’s and almonds over the top of lamb in the yogurt paste.
• Bake for another 5-6 minutes.
• Remove the dish from the oven; leave it a warm place for 15 minutes or so.
• Take the leg out of the pan, spoon the fat from the top of the sauce, strain the sauce and discard the whole spices.
• Serve the leg on a platter with the sauce poured around it.