This is a perfect make ahead stew - tastes even better the next day! Lamb may be replaced with beef or venison. It is delicious when served with rice or crusty warm slices of bread.
Makes 4 cups
ingredients
1 cup dried white garbanzo beans
4 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon crushed cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups red onions, minced
2 cups celery stalks, minced
8 ounces lamb leg or shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons ginger purée
1 tablespoon rosemary, minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup fresh or cherry tomatoes (optional)
instructions
Soak the garbanzo beans for 2 to 3 hours or overnight (in the refrigerator). They should double in size. Drain and combine with 3 cups of water into a Dutch oven (or any oven proof pot) and bring to a boil. Put the lid on, lower the heat and continue cooking for another 40 to 45 minutes. Turn the heat off until the lamb is ready. Do not drain off the liquid. There should be about one cup of liquid remaining. It’s okay if the garbanzo beans are not soft yet, they will continue to cook in the oven with the lamb.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a frying pan, heat the ghee and add the crushed cardamom seeds, ground cloves, minced onions, and celery. Cook on high heat until the onions are golden brown in color, 8 to 12 minutes. Add the lamb chunks, ginger purée, rosemary, turmeric, chili powder, black pepper, and salt and continue cooking on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. As soon as the lamb chunks have a sear on them, stir in the yogurt and turn the heat off. Transfer this mixture to the garbanzo beans and stir to mix.
Cover the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven. Cook the stew for another 45 minutes to an hour or until the lamb is tender. Turn the oven off and let the stew rest in the oven for 15 minutes. This is when all the flavors really come together. Stir in the tomatoes and serve.
notes & variations
Use garbanzo, navy beans or black turtle beans instead of white garbanzo beans.
To keep the stew dairy free, replace ghee with olive oil and yogurt with coconut milk.
Also in Recipes
