You Put The Lamb In The Coconut And Stir It All Up...

 Remember that old song lyric by Nilsson, "the lime in the coconut"??? In my opinion, there is nothing that doesn't go better with coconut.  Lime, more coconut, lamb, whatever. I love my coconut. Maybe it was a lack of Peter Paul Mounds growing up as a kid. My mother doesn't like coconut, therefore none of us liked it either. That's the way she rolls. Growing up and able to buy my own coconuts was a thrill. I won't say it was like getting my drivers' license but it was up there. Yes, I do have a life.
   Since I've been stocking up on clay pots I've also been studying up on my Cooking With Indian Masters book, and ran across a wonderful lamb and coconut recipe that I could do in one of my clay pots.

  My clay pot fetish has only been getting worse. Last weeks' sale at Bram was like a weekend in Vegas for me. What happens at the clay pot store stays at the clay pot store .  I have a lot of new stuff I want to try out. I'm in the process of seasoning my new pots so I made this dish using my Pormaireware pot.

  

  The dish I decided to cook is called Narial Ka Gosht, or Lamb with Coconut scented with fennel. Now any dish that has the words scented in the description has me at scented. I love those floral elements of the Indian kitchen and this dish is a great example of their delicacy.
  One other reason I was attracted to this dish was a desire to use some of the Fennel Pollen stash that Paula Wolfert gave me. Paula told me this stuff was great when she handed me the little leather pouch containing the pollen. She was right.
  For the uninitiated (which was me a few months ago) this stuff is like gold. It is sprinkling the wild perfume of nature on your food. It is like being a bee!
    Fennel pollen is easily available online. Just Google and you'll find a bunch of sources. This dish shows it off to it's best advantage.
    Lamb with Coconut is a kadhai dish, that is traditionally cooked in an Indian style wok. Any good deep pan will do, but if you have a clay pot, try this dish in it. You won't regret it.
    This dish is my adaptation of a  recipe  from chef Arvind Saraswat and serves 4 people.
    The recipe originally calls for 2 and 1/4 lbs of leg of lamb but I find that when slow cooking in clay, the less expensive and equally delicious shoulder block of lamb chops work beautifully. Have the butcher cut them in pieces for you. Bone in.
      Heat 3 Tbls vegetable oil in a kadhai, pan or clay pot and add:
1.) 5 green cardamom pods
2.) 1 black cardamom
3.) 5 whole cloves
4.) One 3 inch stick of cinnamon
5.) 1 bay leaf
6.) A pinch of mace
  Stir things up until the spices begin to crackle then stir in
7.) 3 tps of shallot paste
8.) 2 1/3 cups of thinly sliced onions
   Saute the onions until they begin to brown slightly than add:
9.) 1 Tbs of finely julienned ginger
10.)  6  slit, seeded and chopped green chilies.
   Keep sauteing until the onions darken a  bit more and turn a soft golden brown.
Then toss in:
11.) 16 fresh or frozen curry leaves
12.) 4 dried red chilies
13.) 2 and 1/4 cups dried or fresh  grated unsweetened coconut. Stir for a minute or so then add:
14.)  1 and 1/2 cups peeled chopped tomatoes ( as I've said before if they're not in season where you are, canned work very well)
  Saute a bit more and then add :
15.)  2 1/4 lbs of lamb chunks
  Continue to cook them for about 5 minutes browning them a bit , then add:
14.) 3 1/2 cups of water. ( if using clay remember don't shock the pot, use warm water)

  Bring the mixture to a boil then turn down the heat, cover and simmer the lamb until it is tender and the liquid is reduced to almost nothing. This should take about an hour. If slow cooking in clay as I did, the dish can simmer for 2 hours or so. Just check to make sure nothing is sticking or burning. I cooked this dish the day before. I let it mellow in a Pyrex dish in the fridge over night, then the next day skimmed the fat off and re-heated it in my clay pot for about a half hour or so.
 Just before serving add salt to taste and when the dish is ready:
15.) Sprinkle 1 tsp of fennel pollen over the dish and stir it in.
16.) Scatter 1/4 cup of dried coconut over the dish to garnish, and serve.
   This lamb dish smells so good! I served it with a simple raita and chapatti for lunch along with some homemade hot apricot chutney and some fresh pineapple slices.

I like cooking these dishes in clay slowly. I can do other things while they're on the stove simmering and then the next days' meal is just a simple re-heat. They're the great-great-great-great-grand pot of  the modern crock pot.
   The one piece of clay that I'm lacking is a traditional tava. I have several iron tavas for making chapattis etc. But I was reading about the origin of this cooking implement and evidently the early tavas were made of clay. I've never seen one of these up close and personal and have been looking for one. The closest thing I've seen is a comal made by La Chamba, so if anyone has a clue as to where to get an Indian terra cotta tava, let me know. I've heard they're out there somewhere.
  Meanwhile, our early spring has flown and the skies are darkening over Sonoma, more rain ahead. To paraphrase the film Chinatown, "Good for the grapes!".

   

Hyderabadi Rice Pilaf Cooked in Rustic Clay

 When planning a company dinner I always like to go all out. I also like to have some dishes on the table that are relatively easy to set up and prepare. It's important to have a variety of tastes, textures and colors on the table in an Indian meal.  My favorites are the ones that get off the stove top and tuck themselves into the oven out of the way and leave me in peace. If they look good when they come out of the oven, that's also a plus!
 One of the easiest ways of making food look stunning coming to the table is the dish it's served in. Even better, if that dish is the same one it's cooked in. Less washing.
 If you haven't gathered it by now, I'm nuts for clay. One thing I've learned is that there are as many types of clay pot as there are cooks in love with them. My favorite clay look is Rustic. The rougher, more down home the clay pot, the better I like it. All of my clay pieces fit the bill, and as they say about shoes, I believe about clay: You can never have too many clay pots!

These are just a few of my beauties. I lean heavily to the natural browns and blacks. The exception is the muted smokey grey green of my Clay Coyote Casserole.
  One of my very very favorite pieces to cook with is my Bram from where else? Bram Cookware.
  On New Years Eve I cooked a goat biryani in it.The other day I used it for a Hyderabadi Rice Pilaf.
  This dish is one that I've been making for years. It's an old Madhur Jaffery recipe. It's easy, tasty, feeds a lot of people and works with either a meat or veg meal.
  The reason it works so well and can even be taken as a main course with a few veg side dishes, is that it is a dish that combines both rice and dal!
    To make this dish, start with the Dal.
1.) Soak 1/2 cup of channa dal in 3 inches of water for 1 and 1/2 hours.
2.) Dump the dal and the water it's soaking in, into a pot
3.) Add 1/4 tsp of turmeric
4.)   Boil the dal.
5.) When it's boiling, partially cover the pot with the lid and turn down the heat.
6.) Simmer the whole thing for about 30 minutes. The dal should be almost tender but not mushy. Drain it.
  At this point you can set it aside. This part can be done several hours ahead which makes things insanely easy.
 Now for the Rice
7.) Wash 2 cups of rice and soak it  in about 2 inches of water for 30 minutes. Then drain it.
 Now for the Onions
8.) Peel, halve and thinly slice 1 large onion
9.) Heat about 2 Tbs of oil in a skillet and stir fry the onions until they're crispy golden brown.
10.) Remove them from the oil and drain them on a paper towel. Set them aside for later.
 Save that oil!
11.) Chop 2 tsp of ginger
12.) 1 tsp of finely chopped garlic or shallot
    Stir fry the ginger and garlic/shallot in the oil the onions were cooked in. Cook until they're light golden colored.
13.) Add in 1/4 tsp of turmeric and
14.) 1 Tbs of yogurt
Stir the yogurt around until most of the liquid evaporates.
15.) Add 4 more Tbs of yogurt one at a time stirring each one in carefully.
 Next, 
16.) Put in the drained and cooked dal and
17.) 1/2 tsp salt
18.) 1/4 tsp kashmiri chili powder
 Mix it up well and cook the dal for about 1 minute.
  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
  In a large pot boil 12 cups of water.
 When there is alively boil going on add in
19.) 1 Tbs of salt
20.)  Add in the rice and bring it all to a nice boil once again.
21.)   Boil the rice for 5 minutes only, then drain it.
    Next, Prepping For the Oven
22.)   Put half of the rice into an oven-proof  casserole dish
23.)    Pour the cooked yogurty dal on top of it
24.)  Layer the rest of the rice on top of that.
     Dot the top of the rice with
25.) 2 Tbs of unsalted butter cut into little pieces
26.) Scatter the fried onions over the rice
27.) Sprinkle 2 Tbs of lemon juice over the rice
28.) 1 Tbs of chopped fresh mint
29.) 2 to 4 finely chopped green chilis
30.)  1 Tbs of finely chopped  fresh cilantro
31.)  1/2 tsp garam masala
   Once your toppings are on the rice, you're set for the oven. This dish is cooked in the manner the Indians call Dum.
 This is a way of bake-cooking  where the dish is partially cooked, then sealed into the pot with a lid and finally a ring of flour water bread dough for a tight seal.
In cooking with clay, I was advised by Paula Wolfert that I might not want to take the chance of damaging my clay pot while breaking the dough seal. Instead of the bread dough, I place a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil on top of the dish, crimping it around the sides for a tight fit. I place a heavy lid on top of that. It seems to work perfectly.
  Once the casserole is sealed and lidded, pop it into the oven for 30 minutes.
    It makes a brilliant presentation when the top is popped at the table. Somehow I always expect 4 and 20 blackbirds to fly out, but that's just me.

   This dish is a real star. Serve it up, serve it in clay for a beautiful presentation. And did I mention it also rocks cold, picnic-style the next day?