Leg of Lamb

Its the festival of Eid ul Adha aka Bakrid, the time to pay allegiance to Allah by sacrificing a Sheep following in our Prophet Ebrahims footsteps, its the time of meat,meat and more meat...As children,we would wait behind closed windows and doors and await the preparation of biryani,liver fry and so many other delicious preparations my mother would churn out in our kitchen. After the Biryanis and the Kormas it was always the time to make the dried Kebabs....This was always the laborious  process of cutting the meat into long strips,pounding them a bit ,marinating in spices,stringing them and then allowing them to dry...This post however is not about Kebabs,but about a leg of Lamb recipe which i often make post Bakrid..

Ingredients :
1 leg of Lamb kept whole,make gashes against the grain to allow masalas to seep in (i used the front leg approximately weighing 1 1/2 kg)
2 heaped tbsp raw papaya paste
Juice of 4 large lemon
Salt to taste
Apply all the above mentioned to the leg of lamb and allow an hour of marination
Next take
2 tbsp ginger and garlic paste (2:1) ratio or whole ginger and garlic equivalent to 2 tbsp of paste 
10 Red chillies whole
2 tsp Peppercorns
2 inch stick cinnamon
8 cloves
6 pods cardamom
2 tsp coriander powder or 4 tsp whole coriander
2 tsp cumin powder or 3 tsp whole cumin
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chillie powder
1 large bunch coriander leaves,cleaned and washed well or 1 1/2 heaped cup coriander leaves
1/2 cup  mint leaves
3 green chillies
a bit of salt
Grind the above ingredients to a paste adding very little water,till you get a smooth consistency,add 1/2 cup olive oil to the marinade and apply thoroughly to the leg of lamb...seal well with aluminium foil and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours ... keep turning the leg every 6 hours....Remove an hour ahead of grilling and bring to room temperature...
Fire a grill up and place the leg without removing the foil,turning often,till you feel the semi liquid has dried inside.....remove the foil baste generously with melted butter and grill to desired consistency..serve hot with wedges of lime and walnut chutney...

Tips :Remove some of the masala from the leg before putting it on the grill,keep aside and use it later when you remove the foil,basting alternatively with butter and masala...Always grill the leg with the foil on first so as to seal in the flavours...once you feel the meat is cooked and there is no liquid remaining,remove the foil and allow the leg to grill to perfection,baste generously with melted butter.

A leg of lamb should be a little on the spicy side though not overly so,it should have a good amalgamation of spicy and sour in equal proportions...please do try this,its delicious to taste..
  Walnut chutney is very simple,take a handful of walnuts,add 4 almonds,a cup of coriander leaves,1/2 cup mint leaves,2 green chillies and salt to taste..grind carefully with little water,remove .mix in 1/2 cup well beaten curd and you're good to go....

Hope you liked this recipe...do share your food and don't forget to serve with love and kindness

Fish Fingers

This is one of the easiest to make, and the best Fish Fingers i have ever had....The first time i've had this is at my friend Ketu Irani/Sahani`s home,whose mother, Silloo Minoo Irani,one of the kindest person i know,parted with a recipe book (The Time and Talents club Recipe book) which has a plethora of wonderful recipes from several culinary experts of Chennai...Now this recipe is not there in the book,but is oft repeated and made in their home...The recipe book  is a 1934-59 edition and has some great Parsi recipes....This recipe though is what i have learnt from them...thank you Aunty for giving me the book and for introducing me to this recipe.... 

For the Fish fingers,you would need a firm fleshed,less bones and which can be made into fillets,kind off a fish...i find king fish/seer/surmai/vanjaram,works pretty well for this recipe...

Ingredients:
250 gms Fish,skinned,deboned and made into fillets
2 tsp of worcestershire sauce..
1 large egg well beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
oil for frying
salt and white pepper powder to taste....

Method:
  Clean fish well..drain in a colander for 15 mts...apply salt,pepper and the sauce and allow it ti marinate for not more than 1/2 an hour...Dip in egg,coat with breadcrumbs and shallow fry till golden brown,turning just once....

Some tips on washing fish, to remove its odour...use gram flour...apply as a paste on fish, allow it to rest for five minutes,wash thoroughly.......
If required,you could add some paprika powder to the marinade too...

Hope you enjoy this recipe...its easy to make and tastes good served hot spicy chillie garlic sauce....Do share food and serve with love and kindness.....

Bovine Colostrum Pudding

I was introduced to this pudding by my mother in law,who loved to prepare this whenever our cow had a calf...To the uninitiated Colostrum is the first milk that is produced after a cow has had her calf...the calf has its first feed and the remaining is collected and distributed to family and friends...for those of you who think that this is gross, the understanding from my local milkman is that too much of colostrum is harmful for the calf...the benefits far outway the sorrow of this thought...
  

 Growing up in Chennai in the 60s and 70s was indeed God sent,every home had a cow lazing in a shed at the back of the house..now with homes shrinking in size and want of space and time,obtaining colostrum has become a rare commodity...however my friends tell me that they are available in tins in many countries all over the world....Today bovine colostrum is considered one of the healthiest foods in the world..please educate yourselves and give it to your children and family as much as you can...The process is the same as how my mother in law makes it,though however i have added a few ingredients and eliminated some in conformity to today's taste buds....

Ingredients:
1 litre colostrum milk (I ask for the 2nd days milk)
2 1/2 litres milk
250 gms sugar or to taste
1 tsp nutmeg powder
2 tsp dried ginger powder (sonth in hindi and chukku in tamil)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
6-8 green cardamom, seeds removed and crushed,can add some of the skin too
A few unsalted pistachios cut into slivers can also be added to add a bit of crunch
1 tin whole cream (optional )I omitted it in my second batch and did not notice any difference...

Method:
Boil the milk and set aside to cool thoroughly.....Once cool add in the colostrum and the rest of the ingredients and mix well.....This pudding is always steamed...Place a large vessel with water on stove,place another vessel which fits into the first one and fill 1/2 with the pudding mix...cover and steam for 10-15 minutes...switch off but allow it to remain in the steamer for a while....Alternatively you can pour into ramekins and steam them individually....

Some tips on the pudding....Do not overcook the pudding...at 10 mts open and check to see if its a little wobbly at the center and firm on the sides, that's your cue to switch it off and let it settle in its own steam....Do these in batches so that you can adjust the ingredients subsequently...Never add the Colostrum to hot milk as it will set and cook immediately... For some who don't want the sweet version can add salt and pepper and steam it..cut into pieces and use instead of panner in a gravy... I have watched my mother in law make this,but this is my first attempt,hope you like it...

Theres a lot of goodness in colostrum,hope you will share this recipe with others so that somewhere,someone can benefit and stay healthy and happy...Please share your food and serve with love and kindness....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colostrum