How to make Colm O'Gorman's earthy lamb achari

Colm O'Gorman's Lamb Achari

This week’s recipe is a beautiful lamb curry from Northern India and Pakistan. 

In Hindi, this dish is called Achari Gosht, which translates as lamb pickle, because it is made with a masala or spice blend often used for pickling. 

It has a lovely earthy, slightly sour flavour, and that sourness is amped up to perfection by the addition of some lime pickle towards the end of cooking. 

I know the ingredient list looks a little long, but do not be intimidated by that, most of the ingredients are various spices, and the method is quite straightforward.

Please roast and grind whole spices for the marinade, it makes a world of difference to the final dish. 

It only takes a few minutes, and your kitchen will smell amazing as you toast and then crush the spices.

There are two spices here that some readers might not be familiar with. Nigella seeds, also known as black onion seeds, have a slightly peppery, roast onion flavour with a hint of bitterness. 

Fenugreek seeds have a nutty, bittersweet, and aromatic flavour. Both are important spices in this dish, so do not skip them. You can find them in most health food stores or in any Asian supermarket.

I serve this curry with boiled rice and a big bowl of fresh onion, lime, and coconut chutney. 

To make the chutney, simply thinly slice a few onions, and then toss them in a bowl along with the juice of a lime, a handful of desiccated coconut, a generous pinch of salt, a teaspoon of caster sugar and some freshly chopped coriander. 

The fresh, zesty flavours of this simple chutney perfectly complement the rich, deep, earthy flavour of the lamb curry.

Lamb Achari

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

I always make enough of this curry for two dinners. It tastes best several hours after you make it, and even better a day later. You can freeze it or store it in the fridge for a few days if needs be.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 15 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 35 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

• 100g natural yoghurt

• 1 tsp turmeric powder

• 1 ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt

• Juice of half a lemon

• 600g diced lamb

• 1 ½ tsp cumin seed

• 2 tsp mustard seed

• 1 tsp fenugreek

• 1 ½ tsp fennel seed

• 1 large onion

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tsp nigella seeds

• 400ml passata or chopped tomatoes

• 250ml cold water

• 3 tbsp lime pickle

• 1 tsp garam masala

• Handful of chopped fresh coriander

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Method

1. Peel and grate the garlic. Pop the grated garlic and ginger into a large bowl, along with the yoghurt, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander, sea salt and lemon juice. Stir to combine thoroughly. Cut the lamb into 2cm chunks and add that to the bowl. Stir to coat the meat thoroughly and allow it to marinade for about thirty minutes.

2. Toast 1 ½ teaspoons of the mustard seeds, the fenugreek, and the cumin and fennel seed in a dry pan over a medium heat for three to four minutes until they are nice and fragrant. Keep an eye on them, swirling the pan every now and again to prevent them from burning. When they are ready, pop them into a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder and grind them to a rough powder.

3. Peel and slice the onion. Use either one very large Spanish onion or a few medium sized regular onions. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a high heat. When it is shimmering, reduce the heat to medium and pop in the bay leaf. Let that sizzle for just a minute and then add a teaspoon of nigella seeds and half a teaspoon of mustard seeds. The mustard seeds will start to pop quite quickly, and when they do, add the sliced onion and the ground spices you prepared a little earlier. Reduce the heat a little and sauté until the onions have softened and started to turn just a little golden, four to five minutes will do it.

4. Next, add the lamb including of course all that lovely marinade. Increase the heat to medium and stir everything to combine it well. Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally until the meat has browned. Add the passata or chopped tomatoes and 250ml of cold water. Stir and bring to a soft boil. Reduce the heat to as low as possible and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer the curry for anything from fifty to sixty minutes until the meat is very soft and tender.

5. Once the lamb is perfectly cooked, add the lime pickle. I like to chop up the pickle a little before adding it. This is not strictly necessary, but I prefer to do so as the lime peel is often in quite big chunks and some people may find those just a little too sour. Stir the pickle in and let the pan simmer for another few minutes. Finally, stir in a handful of chopped fresh coriander and a teaspoon of garam masala. Simmer the curry for just one more minute and taste. Add more seasoning or lemon juice to taste.

6. Serve with boiled rice, naan, and a bowl or onion, lime, and coconut relish on the side.