Iraqi tashreeb lamb shoulder with chickpeas
This humble Iraqi lamb stew with chickpeas is a crowd-pleaser. Just make a mental note to have enough time on hand as this is labour intensive recipe – you need to put in 5 hours worth of elbow grease to produce a succulent lamb shoulder
Ingredients
200gm chickpeas
3 dried limes
4 ½ tbsp corn oil
1kg lamb shoulder
2 onions, chopped
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 cardamom pods
¼ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground ginger
2l veal stock
3 flatbreads
20gm fried shallots
2 sprigs of coriander leaves, chopped
Method
1. Soak the chickpeas in water for at least 6-7 hours.
2. In a bowl, soak the dried limes in warm water for 10 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a pot. Sear the lamb shoulder on both sides until it gets a nice golden colour.
4. Add the onion and let it cook for 10 minutes until you get to a point where is nicely coloured, then add the spices and chickpeas. Season, then cook for 15 more minutes on a slow fire.
5. Add the veal stock and the lime, simmer for 4 hours.
6. Remove the lamb from the stock and reduce the jus to a thickened texture. Reheat the lamb in the reduced sauce. Place the flatbread on the plate and then place the lamb and the sauce on top. Garnish with fried onion and some chopped coriander. Serve.
Recipe courtesy: Ninive, Emirates Towers Hotel, Dubai
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