Balti Lamb Recipe

Balti is stir-fried pre-cooked lamb and curry spices

In the olden days, Balti Lamb was made with leftovers. This recipe is also know as Karahi Lamb or Bhuna Lamb. The frying and the spices gave the flavor to appear as if it was just made dish. So, we will precook lamb to emulate left-over. Then will start the stir frying process to finish the dish. You may use Mutton or beef in place of lamb with this recipe.

We can also make this recipe with a combination of microwave and stove top cooking.

How to cook lamb?

Ingredients

Pre-cook Lamb
1. Lamb (cubed): 2 Pounds
2. Minced garlic: 1 Tablespoon
3. Water: 1½ Cup
Stir Fry
1. Ghee (Clarified Butter): ½ Cup
2. Chopped Onions (Preferably ground or pureed): 1 cup
3. Minced Garlic: 2 Tablespoons
4. Coriander powder: 1 Tablespoon
5. Cumin Powder: 1½ Tablespoon
6. Clove powder: ¼ teaspoon
7. Cinnamon powder: ½ teaspoon
8. Cardamom powder: 1 teaspoon
9. Thyme (Ajwain): ¼ teaspoon
10. Fennel seed powder: ½ teaspoon
11. Hot mustard powder: 2 teaspoon
12. Fenugreek seed powder: ¼ teaspoon
13. Dried Fenugreek leaf (Kasoori Patta): ½ teaspoon
14. Dried curry leaf: ¼ Tablespoons
15. Black onion seeds: ¼ teaspoon
16. Tomato puree: 1 Cup
17. Salt: ¾ teaspoon
18. Cayenne Pepper: 1 teaspoon
19. Fresh chopped Cilantro: ¼ cup

Method

Step 1: Precook Lamb . Lamb is cut about 1" cubes. Wash lamb. In a heavy pot add water and garlic. Cover lamb with water just so it barely covers the lamb. Bring it to a near boil. Turn down heat as soon as tiny small bubbles start to rise from bottom too top. You dont want lamb to in boiling water to prevent it from getting tough. Turn down heat and let it simmer Covered (Lid On) till tender. It will take about 45 minutes of simmering. After the lamb is done, shut off the heat and let it stand another 20 minutes.
Step 2: In a large heavy pan, add Ghee. When hot add onions. Start stir frying onions till the edges start to turn brown. Add ingredients 3 through 15. Stir fry. two to three minutes till. It will start emitting aroma.
Step 3: Add tomato puree and salt. Stir fry till almost all the moisture is gone. It will look like a brown thick gravy paste.
Step 4: Drain the lamb. Add lamb to the gravy paste. Continue stir-frying till the dish is almost dry. Turn off heat. Garnish with Cilantro.