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Lamb is a product with a “complex character”. But this does not make it lose its unique taste qualities. It is especially revered by Asian peoples and is considered the best of all existing varieties of meat. How and how much to cook lamb? What dishes should you master first? What are their main culinary features? We understand everything in order and replenish the piggy bank of recipes.
Ferghana motives
Real Ferghana pilaf is prepared only from lamb, with the addition of fat fat. The second constant ingredient is fermented devzira rice. But if it is not there, you can resort to a trick and replace it with steamed long-grain rice. It will turn out no worse.
Ingredients:
- lamb meat-1 kg
- rice — 1 kg
- yellow carrots — 1 kg
- fat fat-400 g
- garlic — 2 heads
- onion-2 heads
- hot red pepper — 2 pods
- coarse salt — 2 tsp.
- zira — 1 tsp.
- purple onion and dill for serving
We carefully sort the rice and wash it, fill it with cold water, leave it to soak for half an hour. We clean the lamb from the films and streaks, chop it into large cubes. Carrots are cut into thin long strips, onions-half rings.
We melt the fat in the cauldron, remove the bacon, lay the meat and lightly fry it to seal the juices. Then add the onion, and when it turns brown, pour out the carrots and season everything with cumin. Fry the meat with vegetables until golden brown, pour water so that it completely covers them. When the mass boils, reduce the flame to medium, put the garlic peeled from the upper husk. We languish all together for half an hour.
Now we spread an even layer of rice, pour boiling water on two fingers. In any case, do not disturb the lower layers. Cover the cauldron with a lid and simmer on low heat until the liquid evaporates. At the end, we dig hot peppers into the rice and insist Ferghana pilaf for 30 minutes. Serve it, garnished with purple onions and dill.
Taste and color of Georgia
One of the most popular dishes with lamb in Georgia is kharcho soup. In the old days, barley and barley were added to it, since rice was very rare. But over time, he firmly entered the recipe. And its main highlight is walnuts and tkemali sauce. We suggest turning to the traditional lamb kharcho soup.
Ingredients:
- lamb on the bone-500 g
- water — 2 liters
- onion-5 pcs.
- garlic — 3 cloves
- long-grain rice — 100 g
- walnuts — 100 g
- cilantro — 1 bunch
- tkemali — 2 tbsp. l.
- hops-suneli — 1 tbsp. l.
- vegetable oil — 2 tbsp. l.
- bay leaf, salt, red pepper, black pepper-to taste
Fill the lamb with cold water in a saucepan, bring to a boil. We lay half a bunch of coriander and 1 whole onion. Cook the meat for 2 hours, constantly removing the foam. The finished broth is filtered and brought to a boil again.
Pour the washed rice into it and cook for 20 minutes. At the same time, we pass the remaining onion. Mix all the spices in a mortar and knead with a pestle. We season the broth with them together with hops-suneli. Next, we send the walnuts ground into crumbs.
Cut the lamb from the bone and place it in a saucepan. Last of all, we put the garlic passed through the press, chopped coriander and salt. Cook the kharcho for another 2-3 minutes, cover with a lid and leave for an hour so that the aroma and taste are fully revealed.
What a lovely leg this is!
A baked leg of lamb will become a crown dish on any festive table. The main thing is to marinate it longer. Then the meat will turn out tender inside and will be covered with an appetizing crispy crust. Properly selected spices will give it a unique aroma.
Ingredients:
- leg of lamb — 1 pc.
- garlic — 1 head
- rosemary, thyme, black and red pepper-1 tsp each.
- salt — 3 tsp.
- new potatoes-600 g
- spices for potatoes – to taste
- onion — 2 heads
- vegetable oil — 5 tbsp. l.
We cut off excess fat from the leg of lamb, wash it well and dry it. We pass garlic through the press, rub it with salt and spices, pour in 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Rub the resulting mixture on the leg of lamb from all sides, tighten the food film in a bowl and leave to marinate overnight.
Now carefully wash the potatoes with a hard brush and dry them. Rub it with spices, sprinkle with the remaining oil, shake it well. We put the leg in a baking bag, cover it with potatoes and put it in the oven at 200 °C for 2 hours. Serve the whole browned leg of lamb, garnished with rosemary sprigs and golden potato tubers.
Solo on lamb ribs
Lamb ribs will give special pleasure to gourmets. How to cook them at home without a barbecue? Take a high mold, pour a little water and put the grill from the oven on top. On such an improvised grill, the ribs will turn out just right. Especially if you add them with an exquisite glaze.
Ingredients:
- lamb ribs-1.5 kg
- ground thyme, oregano, white pepper, tabasco sauce-1 tsp.
- ground paprika — 3 tsp.
- garlic-2-3 cloves
- lemon — 1 pc.
- butter — 100 g
- dry white wine-100 ml
- honey, Dijon mustard, sugar-3 tbsp. l.
- salt — to taste
We wash and dry the lamb ribs. Rub with a mixture of oregano, paprika, white pepper and crushed garlic, leave to marinate for 3-4 hours. We spread the ribs on the grill and put them on a medium level in the oven at 190 °C. After half an hour, turn the ribs over and bake the same amount.
At this time, we will do the glaze. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a saucepan, throw the halves there as well. Add wine, honey, sugar, mustard and tabasco sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, salt to taste, melt the butter and simmer until thickened. Pour the glaze over the ribs in the oven and bake for another 30-40 minutes.
Classics of the genre on a skewer
Without a recipe for lamb kebab, our review would be incomplete. For him, the leg, loin or shoulder blade is most suitable. Lamb likes marinades in vegetable oil with the addition of garlic, fragrant herbs and citrus fruits. Wine marinades are also good.
Ingredients:
- lamb — 1 kg
- sweet pepper — 3-4 pcs.
- onion — 2 pcs.
- lemon — 1 pc.
- red wine — 60 ml
- honey — 1 tbsp. l.
- salt, thyme — to taste
We cut the lamb into large pieces for shish kebab, pour lemon juice, mix well. In a separate container, mix the wine, honey, salt and thyme. We rub the meat with the resulting mixture and close it with onion rings. In this form, we leave it to marinate overnight. After that, you can string pieces of meat on skewers, alternating with large slices of sweet pepper. Pour the remaining marinade over the workpiece and grill it on all sides until golden brown.
Lamb in a warm company
Stewed lamb with vegetables, for all its simplicity, turns out to be extremely tender, juicy and delicious. To get rid of the specific smell, before cooking, sprinkle the meat with lemon juice and leave it for half an hour. Vegetables can be any. We suggest trying the option with green beans and tomatoes.
Ingredients:
- lamb — 600 g
- string beans — 300 g
- onion — 2 heads
- tomatoes-2-3 pcs.
- vegetable oil — 3 tbsp. l.
- tomato sauce-1-2 tbsp. l.
- dried basil and mint-0.5 tsp each.
- parsley — 5-6 sprigs
- water — 100 ml
- lemon — 0.5 pcs.
- salt, black pepper — to taste
Cut the prepared lamb into large cubes, add salt, sprinkle with lemon juice, marinate for 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the meat until golden brown, then add the onion. We cut the beans and tomatoes into slices, pour them out to the meat, season with salt and spices. Pour in hot water with tomato sauce diluted in it, cover with a lid, simmer over low heat until the meat is completely cooked. That’s all — tender lamb with vegetables can be served on the table.
Chops with a brutal character
The mutton aged in beer acquires refined notes and becomes unusually soft. The main thing is to find fresh meat of a young lamb. Of course, it tastes best on coals. But you can also cook it at home — in a frying pan with a thick bottom. Let it be juicy chops.
Ingredients:
- lamb shoulder chops — 1 kg
- beer — 500 ml
- vegetable oil — 4 tbsp. l.
- salt, black pepper — to taste
- dried rosemary — 1 tsp.
Knead the rosemary, black pepper and salt in a mortar. We wash and dry the lamb, rub it with a mixture of spices from all sides and pour beer in a deep container. We leave the meat to marinate at room temperature for half an hour. Heat a frying pan with oil and fry the chops until golden brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Serve them with green peas or any other fresh vegetables.
A piece of Morocco in a plate
Did you want something exotic? Try the Moroccan tagine recipe. Tagine is a special type of cookware, more precisely, a thick-walled frying pan with a high conical lid. And it is also a dish of the same name made of meat and vegetables, popular in the Maghreb countries. Let’s prepare a variation with kefta-lamb meatballs.
Kefta:
- minced lamb-800 g
- onion — 1 head
- parsley and coriander-4-5 sprigs each
- salt, black pepper — to taste
- ground cinnamon, ginger, paprika, cumin, chili-1 tsp.
- vegetable oil — 4 tbsp. l.
- eggs — 3 pcs.
Sauce:
- onion — 2 pcs.
- vegetable oil — 2 tbsp. l.
- garlic — 2 cloves
- tomatoes in their own juice-700 g
- sugar — 2 tsp.
- chili pepper-0.5 pcs.
- salt — to taste
Season the minced meat with salt and spices, knead, form small meatballs, fry and spread on a plate. In the tagine, heat the oil, pass the onion cubes until transparent. Add crushed garlic, tomatoes without skin, finely chopped chili pepper, sugar and salt. Mix everything well and simmer under the lid until thickened. Pour the chopped greens here, lay the meatballs and continue to simmer under the lid for 10-15 minutes. At the end, we carefully break the eggs on top and cook until the protein grabs. You can serve this dish directly in the tagine.
Not soup, but an oriental fairy tale!
Juicy lamb, strong broth, an abundance of vegetables and herbs. Here are the main secrets of lamb shurpa. Sometimes apricots, apples or quince are added to it. In Uzbekistan, it is customary to put a bowl of broth on the table, and next to it is a large dish with meat and vegetables. The guests do the rest themselves.
Ingredients:
- lamb (ribs, shank and pulp) – 1.5 kg
- potatoes — 4 pcs.
- carrots — 2 pcs.
- fresh tomatoes — 3 pcs.
- bulgarian pepper — 2 pcs.
- onion — 2 pcs.
- garlic — 2 heads
- dried basil — 1 tbsp.
- dried coriander and turmeric-0.5 tsp each.
- barberry — 1 tsp.
- hot pepper — 1 pod
- coriander and parsley-3-4 sprigs each
- salt, black pepper-a pinch at a time
Pour the lamb with cold water in a saucepan, bring it to a boil over high heat, reduce the flame, cook for half an hour. Chop the onion and carrot, put it in the broth. After 10 minutes, pour the potatoes into cubes and cook until tender. After that, you can add tomatoes and red pepper in large slices. We peel the garlic heads from the upper husk and completely lower them into the soup. We season it with all the available spices, cover it with a lid and keep it for about 1.5 hours. Remember, the soup should languish, not boil. At the very end, we put the whole burning pepper, salt to taste and insist under the lid without fire for 20 minutes. We cut the meat from the bone and add it to the shurpa before serving, and at the same time sprinkle it with fresh herbs.
These wonderful manta rays
Manti are often called the Asian brothers of dumplings. For the filling, lamb or beef is most often taken, and the dough is made fresh, yeast-free. So that it does not break, it is better to take two types of flour, the highest and first grades. The water for kneading should be cold. And the dough itself should be given a little rest before rolling out.
Dough:
- egg — 1 pc.
- flour-500 g
- water — 100 ml
- coarse salt — 2 tsp.
Filling:
- lamb meat-1 kg
- onion — 1.5 kg
- fat fat-200 g
- salt — 1 tbsp. l.
- ground black and red pepper, cumin-1 tsp.
- vegetable oil for lubrication
Sift the flour with a slide, make a recess, break an egg into it, add water and salt. Knead and knead the steep dough, put it in a bowl, cover with a towel, leave it alone for 40 minutes at room temperature.
Finely chop the meat, lard and onion with a knife, mix well with your hands. The onion should let the juice out. Season the minced meat with salt and spices. Roll out the dough into a thick sausage, cut into portions and roll out thin tortillas. We put about 20 g of minced meat on each, form mantas. We cook them in a mantovark for half an hour. You can use a slow cooker or a water bath. Serve the manti with your favorite sauce and fresh herbs.
These are the dishes with lamb you can prepare at home for the upcoming holidays and for the daily menu. You can find even more detailed recipes with lamb with photos on our website. Do you like lamb? What do you cook from it with special pleasure? We are waiting for your branded recipes in the comments.