Going South Indian Without the Heat

I love Indian food. The flavors just absolutely do it for me. My husband enjoys the flavors as well, though he will not tolerate the heat. While I don't mind some heat to my food, I also do not want so much chili that I can't even taste the food for the spice. So, generally, I either eliminate or cut waaayyyy back on the chili called for in a recipe. I add only enough to make it piquant, without the fire. 
 

South Indian Lamb Curry

Indian restaurants, much like many other ethnic restaurants with fiery foods, often offer the heat in gradations. And still, "mild" is often too hot for my husband. I can normally tolerate medium. I know full well that learning to tolerate the heat of chilies and fiery spices is something that happens over time. Since I normally cook for my husband, I don't use a lot of chili. Therefore, my mouth hasn't been accustomed to the heat. 

South Indian Lamb Curry

All this is in preface to the fact that south Indian foods are known to be highly spiced and outright HOT. Yet my recipes are NOT. So this is a caveat: if you want the heat, please feel free to add as much or as little of either a chili powder (such as cayenne, or a Kashmiri pure chili powder, Resham Patti or other) or of hot green and/or red fresh chilies of your choice to any recipe. This recipe I am writing about today is one from the southeastern part of India; the state called Tamil Nadu.

Things that I have found to be more commonly found in southern Indian foods, aside from hot chilies, are things like tamarind, mustard oil, Panch Phoron (a mix of cumin, mustard, nigella, fennel and fenugreek seeds, most of which are in this recipe), coconut, and more fish and other seafood among many other items. Yogurt, termed "curd," is commonly used in many applications, from eating it plain or mixed with spices as a side to a dish, to using it as a marinade base. Yogurt seems ubiquitous all over India, but with these spicy dishes, yogurt is helpful. My recipe here below uses yogurt, hot chilies, tamarind, mustard oil and lots of brown mustard seeds. It is a lamb curry, and since our local Walmart store has started carrying a few cuts of lamb, this has facilitated my love of lamb curries. I used two lamb "steaks" for this recipe. In summer, one of these lamb steaks is enough to serve both my husband and myself, for dinner. I used two of them in this recipe, so we would have enough of the dish for another meal, tonight.

South Indian Lamb Curry

Serves 4 

1½ to 2 pounds lamb stew meat cut in 1-inch chunks, or may use beef
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South Indian Lamb Curry

MARINADE:
⅔ cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons white poppy seeds, optional
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
4 whole cloves
3-inches true cinnamon stick, crumbled
1 (or up to 4) dried red chili, seeds removed, crumbled

---- TO MAKE THE DISH:
1 tablespoon mustard oil, or other cooking oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
2 medium onions, finely chopped
10 - 12 fresh curry leaves 
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh garlic
1 - 1½ teaspoons salt
(2 green chilies, minced finely)
(1 teaspoon pure red chili powder)
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
6-ounces water

Make the marinade: About two hours before making the dish, stir together the plain yogurt and turmeric in a medium bowl and set aside. Place the remaining marinade ingredients into a dry skillet over medium heat and stir or shake pan constantly until the spices are very fragrant. Pour onto a plate to cool, then grind the spices in a spice grinder and add to the yogurt in the bowl. Stir well, then add in the lamb pieces and stir to coat. Set aside for 2 hours.

To make the dish, if using mustard oil, first heat the oil to the smoke point, then remove pan from heat for a few seconds, before adding in the brown mustard seeds. If using other cooking oil, just heat as usual, then add the seeds. Allow the seeds to pop and splutter. This is easiest with a lid on, as they tend to fly out everywhere as they pop. Shake the pan constantly until the noise has slowed. 

Add in the onions and curry leaves and cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden. Add in the ginger, garlic salt, (and chilies and chili powder if using) and cook for about 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add in the tomato paste and water. Stir together to mix well, then add in the meat with its marinade and stir. Cover and bring to boil, then reduce heat to very low. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour, until the meat is tender, stirring often, and checking to see if the mixture needs more liquid. It should be on the dry side, but not burnt. Garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.