Lamb Shanks Rogan Josh with Ajwain Pancakes
Sometimes you need a weekend cooking project. When you’ve already beaten Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (#humblebrag), you’ve marathoned all of The Gilded Age, and you finally finished reading The Bee Sting, you want to busy yourself in the kitchen. Well here’s a project for you: Lamb Shanks Rogan Josh from Daniel Boulud’s under-celebrated braising book that he co-authored with Melissa Clark, Braise: A Journey Through International Cuisine.
This is one of those recipes where you want to season the meat the day before, which I actually find pleasurable because: (a) you get part of the recipe over with; and (b) seasoning the meat ahead really does work magic, especially when it comes to the salt. Here you’re working with a mix of cardamom, black peppercorns, white peppercorns, whole allspice, whole cloves, sweet papika, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks, cayenne pepper, and a bay leaf that you grind up in a spice grinder. Got all that? Then you rub lamb shanks with olive oil and coat in the spice, along with salt.
Into the fridge they go (and those are some meaty one pound lamb shanks) and the next day, when you’re ready to cook, you heat oil in a Dutch Oven and start to brown them. Careful! You don’t want to burn the spices. If the spices do burn, be sure to wipe them out with a paper towel before moving on to the next step, or you’ll have a very bitter braise.
I don’t have an exhaust vent in my new kitchen, so I had all of the windows open on a 30 degree day to keep the smoke alarms from going off. The things I do for my dog! (The noise makes him quiver.) Once the meat is all browned, you add your aromatics: in this case, onions and red peppers.
When those are soft, but not brown, you add a mixture of yogurt, garlic, and ginger that you blend in a blender with water to make a homogenous mix. You bring that to a simmer, return the lamb to the pot, and then pop into a 300 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat falls apart when you stab into it with a fork. (I uncovered during the final 30 minutes to reduce the sauce and get the meat browner.)
What makes this a cooking project, and not just a weekend braise, is what happens while the meat is braising: you make pancakes.
No, not that kind of pancakes. We’re talking mint and Ajwain pancakes, only I didn’t have Ajwain so these were mint and garam masala pancakes.
To make them, you mix together flour and water. It’s that simple.
Once you bring that together into a ball, you let it rest, and then cut it into eight pieces. Each one gets rolled out and then brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with salt, garam masala, and mint.
Now the fun part. You roll that up like a jelly roll, then twist it around like a snail, then flatten it, roll it out, and cook it in a searing hot skillet. When you’re done, place them in a dish towel to keep warm. Look how impressive this all looks.
And that’s that. I also cooked some Basmati rice in case people wanted something to really soak up the sauce, which I reduced after removing the lamb shanks. Also: be sure to taste the sauce before ladling it over the meat. It may need a lot more salt.
Seems like a lot of work, but if you plan ah… no, I won’t lie to you, it is a lot of work. But fun work! And look how impressed our guests, Treg and Ryan, were.
Now the really hard work begins: I’m going to type up the recipes for you.
Lamb Shanks Rogan Josh
A spicy, sumptuous, feast of lamb in a bright, yogurty sauce from Daniel Boulud’s Braise.
Ingredients:
12 green cardamom pods
10 black peppercorns
3 whole allspice
2 whole cloves
2 tablespoons Indian paprika or sweet paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt (I used more)
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used Kashmiri chili powder)
1 bay leaf
6 lamb shanks, about 3/4 to 1 pounds each, bone trimmed (ask your butcher to do this)
5 tablespoons vegetable or extra-virgin olive oil
3 red bell peppers, cored and seeded: 1 diced; 2 sliced into 1/4-inch-thick strips
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
2 medium onions, peeled: halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (I used more like a whole teaspoon)
Instructions:
The day before you want to serve the dish, use a spice grinder to finely grind the cardamom, black and white peppercorns, allspice, cloves, paprika, salt, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, and bay leaf. Place the shanks in a nonreactive container such as a Pyrex bowl and rub with 2 tablespoons of the oil and then with the spice mixture. (I actually seasoned with lots of kosher salt and then the spice mixture.) Cover the shanks tightly with plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
Using a food processor or a blender, blend 1/3 cup water with the diced red bell pepper, garlic, yogurt, and ginger until smooth.
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups water to a boil and keep at a slow, steady simmer.
Warm the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large cast iron pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the shanks to the pot and sear, adjusting the heat and turning the meat so that the spices do not burn, until golden brown on all sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a plate.
Add the sliced red bell peppers and onions to the pot and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften but do not brown, about 5 minutes. Return the browned lamb to the pot, stir in the bell pepper-yogurt mixture, and sprinkle the garam masala on top. Pour in the hot water and bring to a simmer.
Cover the pot, transfer it to the oven, and braise for 2 1/2 hours, turning the shanks twice while cooking.
Mint and Ajwain Pancakes
A fun, fast flatbread. It’s okay if you can’t find Ajwain (I couldn’t), just the mint and garam masala will make the pancakes sing.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
2 teaspoons ajwain seeds, toasted, or dried thyme
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
Instructions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour and 1 cup water and knead on medium-low speed for 5 minutes, sprinkling in a little more flour if necessary to yield a smooth, soft dough. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. Place the ball in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough with lightly greased plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes, but no more than 90 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a ball with the floured palm of your cupped hand, using slight pressure. Roll the ball quickly in a circular motion until it is smooth, adding as little extra flour as possible. As you work, cover the finished balls of dough with a damp kitchen towel or lightly greased plastic wrap.
In a small bowl, combine the ajwain, garam masala, and salt. Use a floured rolling pin to roll a ball of the dough into a 6-inch disk. Brush the disk with some of the melted butter, then sprinkle the dough with a scant 3/4 teaspoon of the spice mixture and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the mint. Starting from one end of the disk, roll the dough up like a jelly roll; then twist it into a spiral, like a snail shell. Flatten the snail a little with the palm of your hand, then roll it into a 6-inch disk. Repeat with the remaining dough to make 8 pancakes, keeping them covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap as you work.
Heat your heaviest skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Cook the pancakes one at a time, turning once, until golden brown, about 2 1/2 minutes on the first side and about 2 minutes on the second side. Transfer the pancakes to a napkin-lined basket and cover to keep soft and warm. Or reheat in a moderate oven as needed.
