Parsi Gos ni Curry - Lamb curry

Parsi Gos ni Curry 

There are as many curries as there are stars in this universe, but this one is also a traditional way our grandmothers and great grandmothers prepared it, at least as far back as the 1850's. A particularly traditional touch is the addition of two tomatoes. cut into halves, and added in the last 10 minutes of cooking, just to infuse and soften. Served on top of the curry, it is just something that reflects our Persian roots. 
It is one of those foods that we now find fiddly; it is time-consuming rather than difficult to prepare. In those days, there were no blenders, just the old-fashioned masala-no-pathar (art of grinding spices), and lots of strong arms. One took pride in how fine the spices were ground, how tough and capable the person grinding them was! It was definitely a work out. 

In spite of all the wonderful blenders we now have at our finger tips, this curry is meant to be granular and thick. While we serve it with rice, it can be eaten with warm, crusty bread. Growing up, we generally did just that if there were left-overs. 
While the toasting and refreshing of the nuts and spices before grinding can be tedious, the aromas are incredible. 
The end result varies, depending on the number of short cuts one makes to get to the finished product. 

Lamb potato curry served with plain boiled rice and kuchumbar

Serves 6 persons

Step 1 

Dry roast 

1 fresh onion, peeled and cut in quarters
1 whole fresh coconut, grated
2 inch piece of ginger ( thumb size )
1 whole pod of garlic, peeled
12 whole dry red chillies
2 tsp whole cumin
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds 
1 tbsp sesame seeds
3 tbsp peanuts
3 tbsp gram
3 tbsp almonds

Step 2 

1 tbsp Oil
1 kg lamb in pieces bone in
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 green chillies
3 tomatoes = 1 cup puree of tomato
2 raw mangoes peeled and cut into pieces

4 peeled potatoes in pieces
1 cupful fried onions, (2 onions)
3 stalks curry leaves

 2 tbsp lemon juice or to taste 

Dry roast the first 12 ingredients and grind them. In a large pot, heat the oil and fry the masala/spices. 
Add the lamb, salt, chillies, tomato puree, and mangoes. Mix well. 
Add 3 cups of water, bring it to a boil, and cook it for 45 minutes. 
Add the potatoes, fried onions, and curry leaves. Cook for another 45 minutes. 
Add the lemon juice, check for salt, and serve with boiled rice. 

Tips 

Dry roasting is a term that refers to the process of cooking without the addition of any oil or water. 
Generally, most nuts and seeds are dry roasted to refresh them, allowing their natural oils to come to the surface before grinding. 
Traditionally, tomatoes cut in half are added to a Parsi Gos ni Curry. These are placed on top of the curry at the very end. It just needs to steam and be soft enough to cut into.

 

Tamarind paste can be used instead of mangoes and lemon. 

Taste it for spice. If you need to turn up the heat, add red chilli powder, starting with 1/2 a tsp. 1 tsp tamarind paste can be used instead of mango or lemon juice. 
Crush the green chillies if you want it spicier and add 2 extra for a kick. 
Use 1 tbsp each of peanut butter, almond butter, and gram flour to alternate getting fresh nuts. However, you cannot roast any of these. 
Use limbu if available. If not, lemons and limes are acceptable.

 

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.

Photo Courtesy Niloufer Mavalvala