Easy Indian Lamb Bhuna Recipe

Lamb bhuna with turmeric rice and garlic and coriander naan

Lamb bhuna was very much my favourite Indian dish as a child and I still very much have a soft spot for it today. I have tried various different ways of preparing it but this is definitely the easiest I have so far discovered and it still affords a very authentic and delicious eating experience.

Cook Time

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 1 hour 45 min

Ready in: 2 hours

Yields: 2 servings

Principal lamb bhuna ingredients

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound (225g) diced leg of lamb
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon hot chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon medium curry powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 small white onion, peeled, halved and finely sliced
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 green chilli, finely sliced
• 8 ounce (225g) can chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
• 1 pint fresh chicken stock
• Salt and pepper
• 6 ounces (175g) basmati or long grain rice
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1.5 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander (cilantro) - 1 tablespoon for rice, 1/2 tablespoon for bhuna, plus extra to garnish
• 2 garlic and coriander (cilantro) naan breads to serve, heated and sliced

 

Spices are added to vegetable oil

Method

Pour the vegetable oil into a large pot. Add the curry powder, chilli powder and garam masala and put the pot on to a low to medium heat. Stir fry the spices gently for a minute or two, just to cook off the harshness - but be very careful not to overcook and burn them or they will turn very bitter and spoil the dish.

Onion, garlic and chilli are added to spiced oil

Add the onion, garlic and chilli to the spicy paste and stir fry gently for another 2 or 3 minutes, just to soften the onion strands.

Lamb is added to onion and spice mix

When the onions are softened, the lamb should be added to the pot. Turn the heat up slightly at this stage to seal the lamb quickly and evenly. Keep stirring all the time with the wooden spoon for the couple of minutes this should take. 

Canned tomatoes are added to sealed lamb combination

When the lamb is evenly sealed and browned, pour the canned tomatoes into the pot. Stir well. Add the chicken stock, stir again and turn the heat right up until the liquid starts to simmer. Cover and reduce the heat to achieve as gentle a simmer as possible for approximately an hour and a half, until the lamb is beautifully tender. 

When the bhuna is almost ready, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Stir in the teaspoon of ground turmeric. Wash the rice through a sieve under running cold water before adding to the boiling water. Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes or per the pack instructions (do check, as rice types vary).

Coriander is added to drained turmeric rice

Drain the rice through a sieve and return to the empty pot. Allow to steam off for a couple of minutes before stirring in 1 tablespoon of coriander (cilantro), stirring the other 1/2 tablespoon into the bhuna.

Reheat the naan breads as per the pack instructions and slice for service. In this instance, I have plated the rice and bhuna in separate dishes but please as you prefer and serve.

Irish Stew: Simple, Rustic and Delicious

Irish stew is a fabulous one pot recipe which consists chiefly of a simple combination of lamb chops and root vegetables. It is incredibly easy to prepare and delicious beyond belief. There is very little hands on cooking involved and it is mostly a case of getting the right ingredients in to the pot and knowing for how long to cook them.

This recipe is a little unusual in that it is designed for three people. How often do you see recipes for three published online or included in cookbooks? It is also unusual in that I had to make it in a friend's kitchen, using all his utensils and cooking equipment. Just as well he was on hand to tell me where knives and other utensils were kept or total disaster could have ensued! The reason was simply that three of us were meeting up to sort out some fishing tackle and tie up some lures for a trip this weekend and I got the job of firstly cooking us a meal...

Ingredients

9 lamb chops (loin chops, bone in)
4 medium carrots
2 large white onions
6 medium to large white potatoes
2 pints of fresh lamb stock (chicken stock if lamb is unavailable)
2oz butter
2 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
1 sprig of fresh mint (around a dozen medium leaves), plus three small sprigs to garnish
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

This Irish stew was made in a cast iron cooking pot, which not only reduces the cooking time, it seems to lock the flavours in to the dish. If you do not have such a pot and do like making stews, it is likely you would find this a wonderful purchase, sure to last you a great many years if not in fact a lifetime. 

Method

Put your oven on to preheat to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4.

Top, tail and scrape your carrots. Peel your onions and potatoes. Quarter the onions and chop the carrots and potatoes in to bite sized pieces. Remember it is a rustic dish and also that the vegetables should retain their form and shape when cooked.

Put the butter and the vegetable oil in to the cast iron pot and on to a gentle heat to melt the butter. Lay the chops in the pot and turn up the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Brown the lamb chops by frying them for about three minutes on each side and remove them to a plate.

Add the carrot and onion to the pot and sautee for around four to five minutes. Put the lamb chops back in to the pot and carefully mix them with the carrot and onion.

Pour the lamb stock in to the pot and turn up the heat until it starts to simmer. Lay the potato pieces carefully across the top of the other ingredients but do not stir any further. The potatoes are going to mostly steam on top of the dish. Season again with salt and pepper.

Put the lid on the pot and place it in to the oven for one hour. This should see the potatoes perfectly softened.

Remove the dish from the oven and (being very careful of escaping steam) take the lid off before scattering the roughly torn mint leaves over the top of the potatoes. Replace the lid and leave to rest for fifteen minutes. Ladle on to plates and serve immediately, garnished with the small mint sprigs.