Monday, October 10, 2011

Baby turnips



Mid-October baby turnips start appearing at the market; which means that there are a few weeks for me to make on of my favourite curries.


Moghul Lamb with Turnips
Serves 4
Adapted from Food of India by Priya Wickramasinghe

2 brown onions
4 cloves of garlic
5 cm piece of ginger
2 green chillies
1/4 cup oil
2 cassia (Indian bay) leaves
1 kg boneless lamb shoulder or leg chopped into a 2.5 cm dice
Pinch asafoetida
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp ground coriander
2 tbsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp thick plain yoghurt
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
450 g baby turnips, halved

Put the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor and process in to a paste.

Heat the oil in a large shallow pan and add the onion mixture and the cassia leaves. Fry until golden then add the meat and stir until everything is thoroughly coated. Fry for a further 15 minutes until the oil begins to separate from the meat.

Add the spices and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the tomato paste and yoghurt and fry for another minute. Add the salt and pepper then pour in  2 sups of water a little at a time stirring after each addition. When the sauce is thick cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the turnips and allow to simmer for a further 45 minutes or both the lamb and turnips are soft.