In what seems to be a developing tradition (invented tradition, anyone?), I hosted another dinner party with the lovely ladies from the office (and Sean). We had a really nice dinner, and the food came out really good. Now I have a ton of leftovers that I will be eating all week long!
So I made a festive Palestinian dish, one that is actually served in weddings here: lamb that is cooked in yogurt and served with rice, ground beef and nuts.
Ingredients
The Yogurt Sauce Rice
3 cups Yogurt
1 small onion
2 ts dried mint (or a small bunch fresh if you have it)
2 ts cumin
2 spoon white flour
3 lb lamb shanks (or other bone parts)
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaf
4-5 cardamom pods
Rice
1 cup rice (I made 2.5, not recommended!)
Meat topping
1 lb ground beef
100 gr almonds (sliced or quartered. I used unpeeled, don't recommend, the peels burn!)
Optional: cashews, pine-nuts
Nutmeg
Mixed spices (http://leenaskitchens.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-mixed-spices.html)
Preparation
The Lamb
- Brown the lamb pieces
- Add water to cover, salt, and the whole spices (you can also ad whole pepper and all spice)
- The amount of water to use depends on whether you are using a pressure-cooker or not. For pressure cooker, just over the amount enough to cover the lamb. For regular pot, probably double, but keep an eye and add water if needed.
- Bring to boil and let cook. If you are using a pressure cooker, once it comes to boil let cook for 20-25 min. Regular pot, cook for 1.5-2 hours.
- if you've never used pressure cooker: you close the lid, and once it starts making loud noise you turn down the heat and time it from that point.
While it's cooking, start preparing the other parts:
The yogurt sauce.
- Stir two large spoons of flour in water. Add to the yogurt and water and stir well (1 cup yogurt, 2/3 water).
- Strain yogurt through a small strainer to the pot you will cook in (use a large pot so you can stir without splashing.
- Before you start boiling the yogurt prepare this mix: onion (thinly grated), mint, cumin, salt.
- Add it in to the yogurt and start cooking it.
- The next step is tricky, because you have to stir the yogurt non-stop until it boils. So if you have someone you can assign the mission, do it. Otherwise, make sure you don't have to do anything for a bit. If you don't stir well and constantly, the yogurt separates to water and lumps, you don't want that!
- Or making life easier: use your hand-held blender to stir, makes it more consistent and easier on the hand.
- When the lamb is ready, add about a cup of the lamb broth
- Let the Yogurt boil for a bit until it gets thicker.
- When almost ready, add the lamb in.
The Rice
- The rice it easy - just like you make regular rice, except you use the lamb broth instead of water.
- In Short:
- put 2 ts olive oil in a pot, and heat.
- To do the authentic way, you also use this vermicelli that is broken down to very small pieces, below in the picture, which you brown before adding the rice:
- Add rice in and stir for a bit.
- Add boiling water - 2 cups of water per cup of rice
- bring to boil, partially cover and let cook on low heat until water is absorbed and rice is soft. If needed, add a bit of water.
- When ready, close lid and let it sit a bit
- Heat some olive oil in a pan
- Brown the almonds (and other nuts if you're using)
- The nuts cook fast and will continue cooking after you take them out, so keep stirring and take them out quickly
- Spread them on a tray and let cool off
- In the same pan, brown the ground beef , breaking it to small pieces, adding the spices , to taste. Grind some nutmeg, which adds a nice taste.
- When ready, mix the nuts with the meat.
And now that you are thoroughly exhausted, dinner is ready! :)
To serve:
Put the rice on a serving plate, and top it with the ground beef and nuts mix. When people serve themselves, have them add the yogurt and lamb sauce on top of the rice.
Enjoy!
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