Lamb, Chickpea and Plum Korma

From Poh's Kitchen ...

Ingredients
serves 4

* 40ml ghee
* 4 green cardamom
* 4 cloves
* 3 black cardamom
* 2 bay leaves
* 2.5cm cinnamon stick
* 1 cup sliced onion
* 1 tbs ginger paste
* 1 tsp garlic paste
* 1 tbs roasted cumin seeds, powdered
* 1 tbs roasted coriander seeds, powdered
* 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder (mild, vibrantly red powder from large red chillies)
* ½ cup yoghurt
* 1kg diced forequarter of lamb (or 4 lamb shanks)
* 2 cups plums, stones removed
* Salt to taste
* ½ cup cooked chickpea
* 1 tbs keora water (water of the pandams plain)


Method

1. Heat the ghee, add whole spices and then the onion; when golden brown, add ginger and garlic pastes and sautè for one minute. Mix the powdered spices with the yoghurt and add this to the onion mix. After three minutes on high heat add the meat and brown till the oil separates from the spice blend. Stir in the plums, salt and one cup of water. Cook covered on low heat till the meat is almost tender. Add the chickpeas, a little more water if required and continue cooking until the meat is soft. Flavour with keora water and rest for half an hour before serving.

Notes:
- make sure plums are firm
- use less than 1 cup water, maybe 1/2 cup
- we didn't use the keora water
- the chickpeas were amazing so we added more
- wasn't really done after 1 1/2 hours, but very nice after 2 1/2
- the lamb forequarter (curry lamb from Halal butcher) was very fatty. Would be better for health to go half/half or 30/70 with some diced lamb leg.

Result: 5 for super amazing flavour (but -10 for saturated fat content!)
Preparation: a while to set up, but very easy once the pot's on.