Slow Cooked Lamb Madras

Think tender lamb drenched in a spicy, tangy sauce that hits all the right notes, yeah, that's lamb madras. This slow cooked, one pot lamb dish will instantly transport you to south india.

But, there is a catch! Interestingly, this fiery lamb curry, or rather, madras curry is relatively unknown in India. Surprisingly, lamb madras was invented in British-Indian restaurants, where its rich and robust flavors quickly captivated the taste buds of diners. Much like chicken tikka masala, this indo-brit dish is a true example of how cooking evolves across borders.

I make a variety of south indian curries, because my husband adores the flavors. He spent a considerable amount of time in what was once known as Madras (now Chennai), and grew to love the authentic south Indian spices and tastes.

Last year, we came across madras lamb curry (also known as lamb madras) on the menu of a newly opened Indian restaurant nearby, and he was thrilled! I have been working on recreating it at home for a few months now. The distinct flavors of this south indian lamb dish stand in stark contrast to the north Indian lamb curry that I commonly make at home.

While north indian lamb curries often feature rich, yogurt based gravies with focus on aromatic spices like cumin, coriander, and garam masala, this lamb madras curry showcases a bolder, spicier character from a fresh sauce base made with a paste of fiery red chillies,piquant spices such fenugreek seeds and white poppy seeds. It is set to delight your taste buds and leave you craving for more!

Recipe Development

It took me 6-7 trials to finally achieve out the flavors that we enjoy.The madras sauce has a predominent kick that will hit your tastebuds first thing. As you savor it, you'll notice the citrusy, aromatic notes of fresh curry leaves and star anise, complemented by the tanginess of ripe tomatoes. Below are few more notes from my recipe testing endeavors.

1. Tomatoes - There are plenty of ways to mellow the heat in Indian meat curries. For this one, I went with tomatoes to balance out the punch of red chilies and spices. They bring a tangy brightness that's totally different from the creamy richness of yogurt, but they work wonders by adding depth to the sauce and giving the madras its vibrant flavor.
2. Fresh Ground Spices - At first, I decided to purchase a couple of pre-packaged Madras curry powder from the Indian grocery store. And immediately met with slight disappointment. Both times, I found that the ready to use spice blends imparted a bouillon-like flavor to the sauce. By no means, I am rejecting store bought madras spice blends, they just didn't work for me. So, I worked to create a fresh masala from scratch using whole spices. Fresh ground spices take the flavor many notches up and the best thing is you control the quanity of individual spices. Once you try this homemade madras curry base, I assure you, you'll never want to go back to store-bought curry powder again.
3. Not Sweet - Despite the south indian influence, I chose not to incorporate coconut or coconut milk into the recipe. South Indian cuisine is diverse, and while coconut milk is common in some dishes, there are plenty of spicy and robust curries as well. Anyways, while coconut can add sweetness and mellow the flavor, I aimed to avoid that outcome. Feel free to experiment with coconut if you prefer, but I opted for a more savory flavor profile.

Ingredients

• Lamb - I found bone in lamb stew meat(yay!) at the store and used it. Boneless lamb leg or lamb shoulder cut into about 1.5 to 2 inch pieces work great. Meat from both those areas has enough fat to keep the meat moist during cooking and become tender when cooked slowly.
• Dried Red Chilies - The star ingredient! I use dry cayenne peppers and they are fiery! Use any hot variety of dry red chili. We are going to grind them whole- seeds and all and they give a kick to the sauce.
• Whole Spices - There are a bunch of them and most are probably available in your pantry. If you cannot find fenugreek seeds, simply use mustard seeds (black or yellow) in its place for a piquant flavor.
• Curry Leaves - A must have in south indian curries if you ask me. These are available in indian grocery stores in fresh and dried forms. Hard to substitute, skip if you cannot find.
• Tomatoes - I use roma tomatoes. Use any variety of tomatoes as long as they aren't too sour.

Instructions

Prepare The Madras Spice Paste

1. Place a cooking pot (I use a 4 qt pot for 1.5 lb lamb meat) on low flame. Add 2 tablespoon cooking oil.
2. Once oil is warm, on low heat add to it the dried red chilies, white poppy seeds and the whole spices - cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, cloves and whole green cardamom. Fry the spices on low heat in oil for about 30-40 seconds taking care that they do not change color too much, else the sauce may get a bitter after taste.
3. Add the chopped ginger and garlic next and fry for 20-25 seconds.

4. Then add the roughly chopped onions and fry for 5-6 minutes on low medium heat until you see that they soften and few of the onions are getting light brown edges.
5. Add the roughly chopped tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Fry the tomatoes with spices and onions until they just soften. Don't make them pasty or dry out too much.Take off the stove and let cool down a bit.

6. Transfer this onion, tomato and spice mixture to a grinder jar. Add little water and grind to a paste. Keep near.

Cook Lamb Madras

7. Place the cooking pot back on stove. Add 2 tablespoon oil and let heat up on low flame.
8. Temper the hot oil with cinnamon stick, star anise and curry leaves(if using). Be careful since fresh curry leaves crackle as soon as they hit the oil.
9. Add the lamb next and sprinkle turmeric powder and salt. At this point, you could also sprinkle bit of paprika powder or kashmiri red chili powder if you want a deep reddish color, however I didnt.

10. Brown the lamb on medium heat for next 8-12 minutes or until you see no pink. Depending on quality of your lamb meat, you might see some the meat releasing its moisture.
11. Next, add the ground spice paste to the pot. Mix to coat the lamb in the masala and fry for next 3-4 minutes until the masala is heated through.

10. Cover the pot and let slow simmer for about 90 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and tender. I added about ⅓ cup of water midway. You might need to check a few times in between to make sure that there is enough liquid for lamb to cook it. Add water if needed but keep in mind that we need a thick sauce so add accordingly.
11. At the end of cooking, taste and adjust the salt if needed. Let rest for about 10-15 minutes and serve warm with rice or flatbreads.

Recipe Tips

• Thaw The Meat - Always, thaw the meat if its frozen. Additionally, don't cook cold meat. I rsuggest pulling out the meat out of the refrigerator at least 45 minutes prior to when you begin cooking.
• Don't Skimp on Red Chilies- Madras curry is known for its heat. If you reduce the quantity of chilies tremendously or omit them, the true taste of lamb madras wont come through. However, you can reduce the level of heat to your preference.
• If desired, you could finish lamb madras with unsweetened coconut milk to tame the spices and for creaminess.