From alexsandra28NOSPAM@yahoo.com Wed Oct 17 15:35:37 2001
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 15:03:36 +0200
From: "AK./ Sandra" <alexsandra28NOSPAM@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups: uk.food+drink.indian
Subject: Mutton with Lentils

Mutton with Lentils
(extracted from Carol Selvarajah cookbook)

500 gm mutton

Lentils:
100 g toor dhal
25 g moong dhal
25 g channa dhal
50 g masoor dhal
1 medium brinjal
200 g pumpkin
2 onions
3 cloves garlic
2 x 2 cm ginger
150 g spinach
2 tomatoes
2 green chillies
2 tbsp ghee

Curry ingredients:
2 cm cinnamon stick
5 cardamons, bruised
3 cloves
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder

salt
pepper
coriander leaves, chopped

Method:
1.  Remove fat and gristle from meat and cut into 4 large cm. cubes.
2. Pick grit from lentils and wash. Place all 4 kinds of lentils in a bowl,
add water to level of lentils and cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Cook for
15 minutes on High till lentils are soft.  Drin off scum that collects at
the top and stir once during the cooking cycle.
3.  Cook brinjal and pumpkin in a shallow bowl, without peeling, for 10 mins
on High.  Remove from oven and scoop out flesh of pumpkin.  Skin brinjal
carefully as it may be very pulpy at this point.
4.  Peel and chop onions, garlic and ginger.  Cut spinach into 5 cm lengths,
halve tomatoes and split chillies lengthwise.

Microwave cooking method:
1.  Preheat a browning dish for 6 minutes on High.  Add ghee, chopped
onions, garlic and ginger and cook (covered so oil does not splatter) on
High for 1 minute.
2.  Stir in lamb and cook on High for 3 minutes, stirring once during the
cooking cycle.
3.  Stir in all curry ingredients and cook for 20 minutes on High.
4.  Add pureed lentils and cooked and raw vegetables.  Correct for salt,
pepper and chilli.  Cook on Medium for 10 minutes adding 1/2 cup boiling
water if puree is too thick.  Stir well.
5.  Sprinkle with chopped coriandr before serving iwth roti, puri, or rice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My version of this dish, we call it Dhalcha.  I make it the same way I would
for Sambar, except that I add more spices and meat.

Dhalcha

1.  Boil lentils (yellow split) with about 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 2 cloves
garlic,  a bit of oil ( a tbsp ?).  Boil lentils till it is soft.  I remove
half of it and blend it, to puree it, add it back to the pot.  I do this to
thicken the gravy.
2.  In a separate pan, I add oil, heat it up, saute 1 big onion that has
been sliced, ginger- garlic paste.  Then I add cinnamon, cardamons, cloves,
fennel seeds.
3.  I add lamb which has been cut into small pieces. I cook it for a while,
about 3-4 minutes.
4.  I add about 1 curry powder, a tsp or so turmeric powder, 1 tsp chilli
powder.
5.  I add in the boiled lentils. Add vegetables like potatoes, carrots and a
tomato.
6.  At this point I will add water if need be, depending on how thick or
thin I want the gravy to be.
7.  When the the meat is cooked, in a separate pan i heat about 1 tbsp oil,
add sliced onions, mustard seeds, 1 dried chillie broken into 3 bits.  I
cook this till the mustard seeds pop and the onion looks kind of burnt.  I
add this to the pot of boiling gravy.
8.  Add salt.  Taste it, add more chilli powder or salt.  When it boils,
turn off heat and it's done.

Servings:
I serve this dish with bryani rice and salad (I think they call it raita)
cucumber, tomatoe, onions, chilli in yoghurt with a dash of salt.

Note:  This dish actually tastes better the day after it's cooked.  So, if I
am serving Dhalcha tomorrow, then I make it a day ahead.


Sandra