Time for a little indulgence. Although January is a month of light eating, the desire for something more substantial and velvety arises on cold, rainy evenings. Then we take comfort in slow cooking meat meals with a voluptuous sauce, where we sit back and lick our fingers and sweep the sauce from our plates with fresh chunky bread. This is a recipe from Mariëtte Crafford’s book, Sonskynkafee(Sunshine café), a delicious book filled with stories and great recipes.
Lamb-shanks with a curry sultana sauce
- 6 small lamb-shanks with the bone cleaned and a nice helping of meat
- olive oil
- 500 ml organic chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 3 bay leaves
- a chopped onion
- a few open cardamom pods
- 3 tablespoons masala
- 5 t cumin seeds
- 5 t white mustard seeds
- 5 t black mustard seeds
- 2 garlic cloves, leaned and crushed
- a piece of ginger root, grated
- 4 tablespoons of water
- 150 ml yogurt
- 250 ml sultana raisins
- salt and pepper
- 150ml cream
- 125 ml flaked almonds
- fresh coriander/parsley leaves
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Sauté the lamb-shanks in oil in a heavy based casserole until nicely browned, cover with the stock, add the lemon juice, cinnamon and bay leaves and cook uncovered until the lams begins to soften.
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Sauté the onion and add to the lamb.
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Mix all the spices with the 4 tablespoons of water and add to the lamb.
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Season to taste.
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Stir in the yogurt and add the sultana raisins. Simmer gently until the lamb is very tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened.
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Stir in the cream and leave for 10 minutes to heat through.
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Serve with rice in bowls, pour over some sauce and finish off with a sprinkling of flaked almonds and fresh coriander/parsley leaves.
Serves six
I almost bought lamb shanks at the Greenmarket this morning and then didn’t because I was feeling uninspired about what to do with them! Now I have a recipe!
You photo is making my mouth water and the recipe really sounds delicious!
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That is a sumptuous looking photo and recipe! Curry sultana. Mmm.
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I have never seen a delicious looking lamb shanks like this. They just look superb.
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The photo is stunning!!! I would love to try try this if I see lamb shanks..
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I agree: it IS a lovely photo – you can almost smell the delicious aroma coming from it. My mother came from the same area as Mariëtte Crafford so I may be biased, but I absolutely love her recipes, and I’m sure the lamb shanks is every bit as good as it looks.
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Voluptuous. Exactly the right word to describe the sauce that results when lamb shanks are slow cooked. I love the feel of the sauce on my lips.
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what a beautiful photo to match a wonderful recipe!
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I am passing this recipe along to my mother — she LOVES lamb and this would be right up her alley. Is that Israeli couscous you served it with?
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This looks delectable! Talk about ‘whetting the appetite’, you have certainly done so here. Fabulous image and I’m sure it tastes as wonderful as it looks.
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its snowing out there chez vous??here in Aix en Provence its been raining for weeks now 😦
i know this is cliche that people love curry..but who doesnt..curry is really really good..but your version i love it even more..with sultana sauce and the presentation..its more of french “nouvelle cuisine” for me..you’ll definitely merit a star from michelin for this recipe 🙂 i will try this recipe…did you served them over pilaf rice or they are wheat?? 🙂
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I would class this as modern boerekos – a definite winner. i love your chilly looking pots all huddled together under their snow blanket.
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I tried it and it was wonderful! See post about it here: http://www.redactedrecipes.com/2008/01/gotta-try-that.html
Thanks for a great recipe!
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wow, Ronell, I am just browsing around and this one totally caught my attention. So you eat meat? hm… I ll send you something special then 🙂
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Looks delicious. I’m just wondering though, about how long does it take to cook, please? (I’m going to try it with just 2 shanks, as it’s just for me, so would this take less time? I’ve never cooked lamb shanks before.)
Oh, and is it ever necessary to cover this while it’s cooking?
Thank you!
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