If there is a day that you are willing to work in the kitchen for something rich, indulging and delicious, this is the recipe for you. I am jotting down the complete recipe but you can try them on its own or pair them individually with other food. Cook this to impress your loved one or your guests and ditch that curry from the takeaway.

For my readers who don’t have these spices at home, you can easily get them in an Indian supermarket. The main struggle will be to get curry leaves, if you can’t just skip them out as it will still be delicious.

Pepper lamb masala

What you will need (for 2 people) :

1. 300 gm of boneless lamb chunks (I used lamb shoulder)
2. Onions (2 for crispy fried onions done before marinating the meat) and 1 medium chopped for cooking
3. Ginger garlic paste – 1-2 tbsp
4. Chilli powder – 1 tbsp or as little as you like
5. Cumin powder – 1 tsp
6. Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
7. Black pepper – Freshly crushed from 15-20 pepper corns.
8. Turmeric – 1 pinch
9. Kashmiri chilli powder (for colour) – 1tsp
10. Ghee (for frying) – around 2-3 tbsp
11. Mustard oil or any vegetable oil (1 tbsp)
12. Cloves – 3-4 pieces
13. Garam Masala powder – 1 tsp
14. Coriander leaves – for garnish
15. Curry leaves – 5-10 leaves

Procedure:

• Marinate the lamb pieces with ginger garlic paste, fried onions, salt, mustard oil, red chili powder, turmeric and salt for around 2 hours. If you can marinate it longer, it will be better but if you can’t keep it marinated for at-least 30 minutes. This allows the spices to penetrate the meat and brings those bold flavours to your food.
• Heat the ghee in a deep skillet or pan and then fry the onion along with the curry leaves and cloves. Once the onions are fried, add the marinated meat to it. Fry it on high heat for 2-3 minutes and ensure that you keep turning the meat for each side to get coated with the oil. Crush some black pepper on the top. Remember that this is pepper lamb so the taste of black pepper should be the dominating taste.
• After 3 minutes of frying time, lower the heat and then keep frying for further few minutes.
• Cover the pan with a lid and keep cooking under steam for further 15-20 minutes. Keep the flame on low so that the spices don’t burn. After the first 10 minutes open the lid to check that the masala is not sticking to the bottom. If it’s sticking, just moved or around and cover it further. The oil should now separate and you should see the change in the colour of the meat. Cover it for about her 10 minutes approximately and the lamb should be cooked and the oil should be all separate. The lamb will cook in its own juice and no water needs to be added. This is what makes it delicious!
• Once done sprinkle some coriander leaves as garnish. Your pepper lamb masala is ready.

Tomato Rice

What you will need:

1. Rice (1-2 cups) – I used basmati but you can use any long grain rice
2. Tomatoes – 4 big ones grilled on the stove or oven till they turn soft.
3. Peanuts – 15-20 pieces
4. Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
5. Curry leaves – 5-10 leaves
6. Chilli powder – 1 tsp
7. Garlic cloves – 2-3 finely chopped
8. Coconut oil – 1-2 tbsp
9. Onions – 1 big chopped finely
10. Salt to taste

Procedure:

• Peel the skin off the roasted tomatoes and turn them into a purée in a blender.
• Cook the rice till it’s 50% done and then drain the excess water. The key to making this rice nice and fluffy is to soak the rice in water for a couple of hours before cooking. Make sure you drain the water to take away some starch from the rice.
• In the water that you will be using to cook the rice, add some caraway (shahi jeera) seeds and a bay leaf along with some salt. When the water starts boiling add the rice. Cook it for around 10 minutes and then strain the rice out.
• In another pan, heat the coconut oil and then when the oil is hot add 1 tsp of mustard and the curry leaves. Once the mustard seeds starts popping, add the onions and fry it. Then add the cooked rice to it and fry it. Once the rice is fried add the tomato purée to it along with the other spices. Leave it to cook for another 5-10 minutes.
• While the rice is cooking, fry the peanuts in oil and then drain excess oil by placing it on a kitchen towel.
• Add the peanuts to the rice and mix it well. Switch off the hob once the rice is cooked.
• Garnish it with coriander and your tomato rice is ready to enjoy.

So here you go! While this is not my typical 30 minute meal its good to spend some more time in the kitchen and cook something special. Bon appetite and till the next time, Ciao!