This one is a revelation. I came across the recipe at Spices and Aroma and was instantly intrigued. A lamb main course using just three ingredients? Now that must be either really simple or really a joke. I had to satisfy my curiosity. So I immediately bookmarked the page to try it and asked the co-resident to go meat shopping. (He knows this awesome butcher near my mom-in-law’s house, rest assured we always get the freshest and best cut of meat). The recipe says Lamb but I like to use Goat Meat. It’s less fatty and somehow so much more flavorsome. The recipe is an authentic Kongunadu (Salem, Erode and Coimbatore) recipe using lamb and onions in equal quantities with some many fiery dried red chillies to liven it up! The result is an almost pickle like consistency that you serve with some hot white rice and loads of ghee. Now, most people add ghee to their sambhar and curries to reduce the heat, but the purpose of serving ghee with this dish is to also enhance the flavour. Ghee brings the whole dish together. So leave your calorie conscious self aside when you liberally pour ghee over your hot rice and lamb to savour it. I loved the dish so much that it’s going to be a regular at the family dinner table. Remind yourself to have loads of yoghurt to sooth your stomach if it complains… the tongue however will be begging for more more more!
Lamb Chintamani
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 40 mins
Serves: 4-6
What you need:
1 ¼ kilo Lamb/ Goat meat
1 ¼ kilo Onions – chopped
25 Dry Red Chillis
¼ cup Vegetable Oil
½ cup Water
To Serve:
White Rice
Ghee
Yoghurt
What to do:
Heat oil in a large pressure cooker. When the oil get smoking hot, tear the dry red chillies into half and add them to the hot oil. Let them sizzle and cook for 30 seconds. Throw in the onions and little salt. Cook on low flame for 10-15 minutes until the onions brown. Finally add the cleaned and cubed lambs and water. Mix well to combine.
Pressure Cooker Method: Cover the pressure cooker with the lid and cook for 8-10 whistles. Once the steam has settled down, open the lid and slowly remove the lamb pieces in a clean container leaving behind the liquid.
Turn on the stove to high and reduce the liquid to less than half the amount, or until they turn syrupy. At this point, mix in the cooked juicy lamb and cook for further 2-3 minutes.
OR
Traditional slow cooking method: Cook in a large cooking pot. Follow the same steps as in the previous method. But instead of the letting it whistle, cook them covered for 45-60minutes stirring every now and then.
Serve hot with rice, ghee and yogurt. OMG yummy!
P.S. I prefer the Pressure cooker method, saves time and effort. And you don’t have to keep hovering over the stove and praying that the lamb is not burning. (Ok, it dosen’t burn in the traditional method, but who wants to spend an inordinate amount of time watching the pot?)
The FoodPorn Diaries 
Chowder singh – Chintamani is the name of this little village on the outskirts of Bangalore. It is known for its extremely spicy food, including the famous Congress Peanuts (it's peanuts roasted with an super spicy green chilli paste and pepper). Hence the adaptation here.. 🙂
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Love the name of the dish (y)
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Thanks for the trial Ganga… so Chicken Chintamani is a off the list then! The lamb must be pretty smug right now 😉
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Tried it with Chicken,thought the spices didn't have enough time to soak in to the meat because of the reduced cooking time.
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Chicken huh? Din't think of that. Lets see… it should work, though there won't be any natural fat that the chicken would ooze (like lamb). Maybe if we left the skin on for a few pieces. Also the cooking time would be much reduced. Lets just say 4 whistles or 15 mins should do it. You should give it a try and let me know if it worked.
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Swapna,
This looks delish. Do you think i would be able to substitute Chicken for lamb? I am more of a white meat person.Thanks
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Byadgi dosen't release that much heat unless it's powdered. (Cause of the crinkley nature, the seeds stay inside and that's where the actual heat is). Therefore the use of Guntur Chillies.
And Shwe… I know you from grade school…. of course I know why you're “yaying” me… Thanks 😛
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Smitha, Let me know if your attempt was successful.. It's drool worthy! 🙂
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you've used guntur red chillies…can u use the byadgi chillies?those are more crinkled and spicy..
PS…swap..yay u!i'm sure you guessed whu i'm yaying you 😉
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its a simple and a Delicious aromatic recipe a must try =) thanx swapna , a sheer delight i must say
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