Easy Lamb Pilaf
Impress your guests with this lamb pilaf that's bursting with flavour and best of all, super easy to make!
Equipment
- Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 250g boneless lamb shoulder, cut into cubes
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 small carrot, julienned
- 2-3 tbsp Opah herbs (See Recipe Notes 1)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 4-5 cloves
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1-2 tbsp fried shallots
- Rice for two people, washed
- Handful roasted cashewnuts, unsalted
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Water
Instructions
- Heat up oil in Dutch oven and add onions. Cook until soft; they don't have to be caramelized.
- Add lamb, carrots, Opah herbs, star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves, cumin and coriander powder, pepper and salt, half a cup of water and 2 tbs of lemon juice. Cover with lid and cook over low heat for 45 min.
- Open lid and check for seasoning and tenderness of the lamb. If not soft enough, you can continue cooking it for another 10-15 minutes. If there's not enough gravy, add a few tablespoons of water to avoid burning. (Recipe Notes 2)
- Once lamb is done, add equal amounts of rice and water, followed by cashews and fried shallots. Mix everything roughly.
- Cover with lid and continue cooking over low heat until water has dried up and rice is fluffy and individually separated. Serve with a cucumber raita (See Recipe Notes 3).
Notes
- For cooking lamb, I prefer to use either Opah Mediterranean Mix or Opah Lamb/Beef Mix.
- The dryness/sauciness of your dish will depend on the fat content of your lamb and the water content of your vegetables, so adjust accordingly by adding water if necessary.
- For a simple cucumber raita, grate cucumber into a bowl, add several tbsp of yogurt and season with salt and pepper. That's it!
- Go for Aus/NZ lamb shoulder if you want meat that can be cooked to tenderness and doesn't have gameyness. I didn't have to spend hours pre-boiling my lamb.