Recipe: Lamb Meatballs in Yogurt Sauce (Gushtaba)

Recipe Source: Husain, Salma.  The Emperor's Table.  Roli Books, New Delhi, 2008 p. 92

I was initially attracted to this dish for two reasons: cardamom and lamb.  I adore cardamom, and it's not very usual to find it in savory dishes.  I see it sometimes, but the vast majority of the time it seems to be relegated to cookies and jams.  Lamb is my favorite form of meat.  I didn't grow up eating it, but ever since the first time I tried it I've been absolutely hooked.  I should therefore have loved this dish.  Unfortunately, I did not love this dish.  I found it kind of bland.  The cardamom flavor didn't come through all that much and the lamb flavor was far too mild to be noticeable.  But I think that the real heart of my distaste was the yogurt, which separated into curds as soon as it hit the sauce. 

I did make one major change, and that's ghee.  I don't tend to use it, because if my husband caught me with a jar of clarified butter I think he'd probably lose his mind.  I used olive oil instead, olive oil being my default cooking fat.  I also used the food processor instead of pounding the lamb on a smooth stone with a wooden mallet until it turned to pulp.  I just don't have that kind of time, or a clean smooth surfaced stone, or a wooden mallet. 

While I did not enjoy this dish in the slightest, my husband really did, so I guess a lot of my dislike must be down to personal taste.  I'd serve this to someone who thought Indian food always had to scald the mouth. 

Gushtaba (serves 4; approx. $5.11/serving)

1 1/2 lb boneless leg of lamb

Pinch of kosher salt

3 teaspoons dried ginger

1 teaspoon dried cardamom

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

2 cinnamon sticks

1 lb Greek yogurt, whisked

1 teaspoon fennel powder

Equipment:

• Food processor
• Saucepan
• Saute pan

1. Combine the meat, kosher salt, ginger and cardamom in the food processor.  Process to a paste.
2. Shape the meat pulp into meatballs of about 2" diameter. 
3. Put the meatballs in the saucepan with roughly enough water to cover.  Boil about 5 minutes, stirring very gently on occasion.  Remove from the water.
4. Heat the olive oil in the saute pan. 
5. Add the cinnamon sticks and yogurt.  Stir until the color changes to light brown. 
6. Add 1 1/2 cups water, the fennel and the lamb balls. 
7. Bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
8. Serve.

Comments

[lululu]

Very interesting meatball dish with tons of delicious flavors!

[cialis online]

Traditional cuisines of Orissa, Bengal, and Assam are delicately spiced. General ingredients used in Oriya, Bengali, and Assamese curries are mustard seeds, cumin seeds, nigella, green chillies, cumin paste and the spice mix panch phoron or panch phutana. Mustard paste, curd, nuts, poppy seed paste and cashew paste are preferably cooked in mustard oil.