Dhana Ghosht
Submitted by Lady
Dhana Ghosht is a slow-cooked Indian lamb curry marinated in spiced yogurt, simmered with a dark masala of mustard seeds, ginger, cumin, and turmeric, finished with heaps of fresh coriander leaves.
YIELD
3 servingsPREP
1 daysCOOK
2 hrsREADY
1 daysDhana Ghosht translates roughly to “coriander meat," and that’s the clue to what makes this lamb curry stand apart. The double dose of coriander, ground in the marinade and a generous bundle of fresh leaves folded in at the end, gives the dish its signature herbal lift against the deep, spice-layered base.
The yogurt marinade does triple duty, tenderizing the lamb with its mild acid, carrying the spice paste deep into the meat, and eventually breaking down into the silky sauce. Twenty-four hours in the fridge is the gold standard for this one, and worth the wait.
Frying the onions to a deep red-brown before adding the masala spices is the real foundation. That caramelization is where the body of the curry comes from. Rushed onions mean a thin, pallid gravy, no matter how much spice you add.
Chef Tips
- Use mustard oil if you can find it. Nothing else tastes quite like it, pungent and slightly bitter, and it’s genuinely traditional.
- Fry the onions slowly the full 15 minutes until a proper red-brown. Pale onions means pale curry.
- Toast the black mustard seeds until they pop and crackle before adding other spices. This blooms their nuttiness.
- Bake rather than stovetop if you want to set it and forget it. The oven method gives an even, hands-off cook with no stirring.
Variations
- Swap lamb for beef chuck or bone-in goat for a different but equally traditional feel.
- Add a cinnamon stick and two cardamom pods with the cumin for a more aromatic, garam-masala-style curry.
- Serve over basmati rice or with warm naan and a cucumber raita to balance the heat.
Ingredients
Directions
Dice the meat into bite-size cubes and soak in warm water for 2 to 3 minutes.
Mix the paprika, ground coriander, salt, crushed garlic and crushed green chilies with yogurt. Drain the lamb and add to the yogurt marinade. Leave to marinate for at least six hours. Ideally it should marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Dice the onions into thin semi-circles. In a large saucepan or a generous frying-pan, heat the cooking oil over a high flame. Add the onions when the oil is hot enough to “steam." Reduce the heat to medium and stir occasionally. Fry the onions until they change colour to a deep red/brown. This should take 10 to 15 minutes.
At this point add the black mustard seeds and stir a few times. Then add the ginger, cumin seeds, red chilies and turmeric powder. Increase the heat and fry this “masala” for a couple of minutes. Add the marinated lamb to the masala and mix well.
At this point you have two options, either to cook the meat on the stove or to bake it. Stove-top cooking takes less time but requires fairly constant stirring. It should be cooked in a covered saucepan on a low to medium flame for about 45 minutes. Add water if the sauce gets too dry and begins to stick. For baking, transfer it to an ovenproof casserole, cover it, and bake for 1½ hours at 200 degrees F. Check occasionally, though you are unlikely to need to add any water to the sauce.
Finally, prepare and wash the fresh coriander in cold water. Only the leaves and the tender stems should be retained. Chop coarsely and mix well just before serving. If you don’t have any fresh coriander, then mix in about 2 to 3 teaspoon of coriander powder. Serve with well buttered (boiled) rice or pita bread and fresh salad.
Comments