Lamb Casserole
Lamb Casserole
Mamta Gupta
Lamb casserole is one of those comfort foods that is quite easy to make, filling and tasty. You can add any vegetables you have or like. You can also add dumplings or potatoes. Any cuts of meat can be used. Slower you cook it, tastier it is. Cheaper cuts of meat will taste better when cooked longer. Serve with freshly made bread for a hearty meal.
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 lamb or mutton shanks (you can use other cuts of meat, like neck or shoulder chops
2 tbsp. seasoned (with salt and pepper) plain flour
2-3 tbsp. oil
2 bay leaves
2 large cardamoms
2 medium sized onions – peeled and roughly chopped (approximately 1 cup
3-4 garlic cloves - finely chopped
1 inch ginger stem, peeled and chopped
1 tin (400 gm.) of chopped tomatoes or 1.5 cups/4 medium sized, fresh tomatoes
2 cups of your chosen vegetables; Thickly sliced or whole mushrooms, broccoli spears broken into large…ish florets, thickly chopped carrots or whole baby carrots, a few green beans chopped into large portions
A few sprigs of herbs like rosemary, basil, mint leaves
1 cup red wine (optional
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1 heaped tsp. sweet paprika (not hot chillies) for colour
Instructions
Place lamb in a bowl, sprinkle with flour and stir to coat it nicely with flour.
Heat oil in a deep pan. Add lamb shanks and fry on high for 10-15 minutes, until well browned and sealed on all sides. Keep aside.
To the remaining oil, add cardamoms, bay leaves, onions and garlic. Fry lightly, but you can add them as they are at this stage. Transfer to a slow cooker
Add lamb, vegetables, tinned tomatoes, herbs, wine, salt, pepper and paprika. Stir them in well.
Cook on ?low? setting according to instructions of slow cooker. Usually, it will have an automatic time setting 6-8 hours. The meat should begin to fall off the bones.
You can cook it on a stove; bring to boil, cover and turn heat down to minimum. Simmer for a couple of hours, until meat is falling off the bones.
You can cook it in an oven; place everything in a casserole dish, cook at low heat, like 150?C or 300?F for 2-3 hours, until meat is falling off the bones.
If the gravy is too thin, boil briskly to reduce or high setting on slow cooker or 300 C in oven. You can also thicken it by adding a tablespoon or two of white flour stirred into a ladle of cooled gravy from the casserole and then adding it back to the casserole.
Let it sit until you are ready to serve. Re-heat and serve with a Mixed Salad and bread of choice. Some examples of bread are ; Garlic Bread, Naan, Pitta Bread or French bread or any other crisp, fresh bread.
Notes
If it looks dry during cooking, add some water. The amount depends upon how thick you want your gravy. It should not be runny.
If you like your vegetables to cook less, add them toward the last 1/2 hour of cooking time.
