Par-Cooked Balti Meat
Submitted by lfhlaw
Par-cooked balti meat, the make-ahead base for a balti curry: lamb braised with onions, tomato, ginger and balti spices, then the aromatics blended into a thick curry sauce ready for the final balti cook.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
45 minREADY
60 minThis is not a finished dish so much as the clever foundation behind a great balti, the same prep-ahead trick curry houses use to get dinner out fast. You par-cook the lamb and build a base sauce now, then finish the balti later in minutes.
A leg of lamb is cubed and braised in the oven with onions, tomato, ginger and a generous hit of balti spice, turmeric and garam masala. Stir and check the water every ten minutes so nothing catches.
Here is the key step: pull the lamb while it is tender on the outside but still slightly pink within, since it gets a second cooking later. Then the rest of the casserole, all those softened aromatics, gets blended into a smooth, thick sauce about the consistency of a hearty soup.
Now you have tender par-cooked meat and a ready-to-go balti sauce, the two building blocks for a quick, deeply flavored balti whenever you want one.
Chef Tips
- Stop cooking the lamb while it is still a little pink inside. It finishes in the final balti, and overcooking now leaves it tough later.
- Check and top up the water every ten minutes as directed, so the spices do not scorch on the bottom.
- Blend the sauce to a thick-soup consistency. Too thin and the finished balti turns watery.
Variations
- Use the same method with cubed chicken thigh, beef or goat.
- Make a big batch of the base sauce and freeze it in portions for fast weeknight baltis.
- Adjust the chili powder up or down to set your heat level before the final cook.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).
Fry the onions in the oil in a flameproof casserole until translucent.
Add all other ingredients except the meat, and ½ UK pint / 300ml water.
Bring to a boil: add the meat.
Put the casserole in the oven and braise the meat for 45 minutes, checking every 10 minutes to give it a stir and make sure there’s enough water.
When the meat is tender on the outside but still a little pink inside, take it out with a slotted spoon.
Let the contents of the casserole cool a little.
Then empty the contents into a blender or food processor and liquidize.
This becomes your basic Balti sauce, and should be the consistency of thick soup.
The meat is now ready for its final cooking in the balti.
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