Dhaba Mutton Shank

Method:

1. Chop 4 small onions and crush one stem of ginger using a pestle and 5 – 6 cloves of garlic.

2. 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)….

3. 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.

4. A pressure cooker works a little differently to a standard pot in that you can 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.

5. 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).

6. 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.

7. If you are not using a pressure cooker cook for a total of 2 – 2.5 hours.

8. 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.

9. Add the whole spices; , 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.

10. If you e using a normal pot no need to transfer, simply add the ground spices.

11. Add 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 2 tsptspchili powder 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.

12. 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.

13. 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 as tender as you would like.

14. Finally check for salt and garnish with coriander just before removing from the heat.

15. Your finished dish should look glorious and ready to devour!