Lamb Shanks
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 6 lamb shanks
  • 4 onions peeled
  • 1 stem of ginger OR 2 heaped tsp crushed ginger
  • 5 - 6 cloves of garlic OR 2 heaped tsp crushed garlic
  • salt to your taste (I used about 1.5 tsp salt)
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • ¾ of a pint of water (top up as necessary, if you're cooking in a normal pot start with 1 pint and top up as necessary)
  • 200ml oil
  • a pinch of fenugreek (methi) seeds
  • 3 - 4 bay leaves
  • 3 - 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 - 4 cardamom pods
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp mixed curry powder
  • 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder (this gives the curry a more vibrant colour)
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • coriander for garnishing
Method
  1. Start by removing the white coloured excess tissue using a knife, there is a lot of tissue which holds the meat together and you don't want too much of this on your shanks.
  2. You will find there is a lot of excess tissue that comes away from each piece. You want the colour of the meat to be visible as can be seen in the top right photo.
  3. Wash the shanks using hot water, you will find this helps loosen any remaining excess tissue, cut any extra fibres using scissors.
  4. Do not remove ALL the tissue as you need some to hold the shape of the shanks. After washing, leave to drain.
  5. Chop 4 small onions and crush one stem of ginger using a pestle and mortar....
  6. and 5 - 6 cloves of garlic.
  7. Place the lamb shanks in a pressure cooker, along with the chopped onions, crushed ginger and garlic, 1.5 tsp of salt (I eyeballed the amount here)....
  8. tsp of garam masala and ¾ of a pint of water. Close the lid on the pressure cooker and cook for 1 hour, checking half way through the cooking time to stir and top up with water if necessary.
  9. A pressure cooker works a little differently to a standard pot in that you can't just take the lid off when you please; the pressure that builds up inside the cooker has to be released first and then the lid can be removed.
  10. After 30 minutes check the lamb shanks (if you are using a pressure cooker) and have a feel of how firm/tender they feel. My shanks still looked tough and felt firm (top right photo) so I added more water (approximately ¼ pint more) and cooked the shanks for a further 30 minutes (60 minutes in total).
  11. If you are using a standard pot then you can stir and check as you go but will need a longer amount of cooking time, I would say between 1.5 - 2 hours for this stage and a further 30 minutes after adding spices and boiling. You can always gently simmer for longer if you want the shanks more tender.
  12. After one hour of being cooked the shanks looked like this (top right photo) and felt much softer without feeling like the meat was falling apart. My family like their meat tender but to remain on the bone, they don't enjoy super soft meat; if you want your meat falling off of the bone, cook for longer. Don't forget the shanks will cook for a further 25 - 30 minutes whilst frying in the spices and being boiled.
  13. If you are not using a pressure cooker cook for a total of 2 - 2.5 hours.
  14. For the next stage, in a large wide pot (pot needs to be wide and big to be able to mix and stir the shanks with ease) add 100ml of oil and heat.
  15. Add the whole spices; a pinch of fenugreek seeds, 3 - 4 bay leaves, 3 - 4 cinnamon sticks and 3 - 4 cardamom pods to the hot oil till the aroma is released. Next carefully transfer the contents of your pressure cooker to the wide pot, add a little more water if the contents seem dry.
  16. If you're using a normal pot no need to transfer, simply add the ground spices and oil.
  17. Add 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 2 tsp of mixed curry powder....
  18. tsp chilli powder (use Kashmiri chilli powder for a more vibrant colour) 2 tsp cumin powder and 1 tsp coriander powder. Mix the spices with the shanks and cook uncovered for 10 - 15 minutes to fry the shanks in spices and oil, stir occasionally to prevent burning and help break down the onions further.
  19. After frying the shanks in spices for 10 - 15 minutes you need to add some water depending on how much gravy you want in your curry, having more gravy is suitable if you're serving this with Soi Fita or Chappatis. I added coriander at this stage thinking I didn't want any more gravy as there was a fair amount of fluid already but I decided I did want more, I then added about ¼ of a pint of water, you may add more if you prefer. Don't add the coriander until you're happy with the consistency of the gravy.
  20. Cover the pot after adding the water and allow the shanks to boil over a medium - high flame for about 10 - 15 minutes. You can always gently simmer the Lamb Shanks for longer over a low flame if for any reason the shanks aren't as tender as you would like.
  21. Finally check for salt and garnish with coriander just before removing from the heat.
  22. Your finished dish should look glorious and ready to devour!
Recipe by www.afeliaskitchen.com at https://www.afeliaskitchen.com/lamb-shanks/