Chandi Ghosht

Lamb in Creamy Sauce

The other day at the lunch table at work, with North-Indians dominating the numbers, we began our usual lament about the lack of good Lucknowi biryani and awadhi food in Bangalore. How every place, be it a hole-in-the-wall kebab shop or a five-starred restaurant, claiming to serve awadhi food invariably added copious amounts of tongue-searing stomach-burning chillies. One of my colleagues, a native of Awadh, narrated an incident where he had a heated discussion at one of Bangalore's posh restaurants trying to explain to them how awadhi food was not about an over-dose of spices and chillies but using them more subtly to get fragrant flavours.

This dish, from Roli Book's Awadhi Kitchen by Pushpesh Pant, is a good example of the fragrant cooking of Awadh. But be warned, it is extremely rich. Delicious but a little goes a long way as far as the sauce is concerned, and something for a special occasion rather than weekday dinner. Plain phulkas will go well with it, rather than paranthas or naans.

This is my modified version:

Ingredients

500 gms cubed lamb (with bone)

1tbsp Ghee

2 tbsp Oil

1/3 cup Yoghurt

3 tbsp Cream

4 Green cardamoms

1/2 tsp Green cardamom powder

2-3 tbsp chopped green coriander

salt, black pepper to taste

for Chandi paste:

4-5 cloves of Garlic, peeled

1 medium Onion, chopped

2 Green chillies, slit

1 tbsp ground Almonds

Method:

For the Chandi paste: grind together all the ingredients to a paste

Heat the ghee and the oil in a pressure-cooker (or handi/saucepan). Add the green cardamom pods and stir over low heat for half a minute. Add the chandi paste and fry for about 5-6 minutes till the raw smell of the onions is gone. Add lamb, yoghurt, and salt and mix it all together. Cover with enough water and then give 2 pressures on high heat and 1 on low heat (or you can cover the handi and simmer till the lamb is done). Open the cover and add cream. Bring to boil once and add salt, pepper and green cardamom powder. Stir. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with phulkas.

The original recipe is all done in white butter and simmered in a handi. The dish is garnished with silver varq, hence the name Chandi Ghosht, literally, silver lamb