Spiced Lamb with Orange Rice

Spiced Lamb Curry
served with
Rice cooked in chicken broth and orange juice


Childhood memories are often made up of food. We relate events and occasions, both happy and sad ones, to what we ate. I am no different and associate certain moments with the aromas of our buzzing kitchen. Cheese cakes were for dinner parties, brownies for weekend treats. Rice was a must for lunch - we ate a full lunch as a family every day of the week.
This particular curry is very mild on the spice and bursts with subtle flavour. Nothing close to a Parsi food dish nor even an Indian one. The rice compliments the gentle yet asserting flavours. Like ours Its perfect for the family that has members who love eating a mild curry but love bold flavours. The green chillies are for the other members who need to have their meal spicier. It works well. This is my mother's recipe which she still considers a favourite  and  my youngest loves it too. 

Lamb potatoes cooked in yogurt served with orange rice

Serves 6

Spiced Lamb Curry

2 tbsp butter or oil
1 1/2 lb  / 750 gm pieces of lamb/mutton/goat with bone
2 tbsp butter or oil
1 cup of fried crushed onions
1  1/2 tsp garlic 
 1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp corriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
6 whole green cardamom pods, broken
1/2 tsp red chilli powder or cayenne
2 tsp paprika
2 large green chillies 

1 cup thick yogurt + 1/ cup water + pinch of sugar+ pinch of salt

3 tsp lemon juice
1/2 lb /250 gm potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into chunks
3 large skinned tomatoes in quarters


In a large pot heat the oil and brown the pieces of meat all over. Add the fried onions and the garlic, ginger salt, corriander, cumin, cayene, paprika powders. Then throw in the cracked cardamom and slit green chillies. 

Add in the yogurt mix. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes. 
Add the lemon juice, potatoes and tomatoes. Cook for another 40 minutes until everything is tender.
Serve immediately with the orange rice.

Rice cooked in chicken broth and orange juice.

Serves  6


Orange Rice

2 1/2 cup rice
2 tsp salt
2 tsp butter or oil
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup orange juice
8 finely sliced green onions all the way down to the greens
zest of two oranges and two lemons - leave some to garnish

Wash the rice, Add it to a pot. Add all the other ingredients, bring it to a boil until you can see the layer of rice. Cover, lower the heat to a simmer for 20 minutes, Cooking the rice until tender and flaky.
Remove to a platter, garnish and serve hot. 

Tips

Freshly squeezed orange juice is best.
Adjust the salt if your chicken stock is already salty. 

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

Flavourful rice cooked in broth and fresh orange juice