Daal Gosht (Baruchi style)

• Preparing all your ingredients for this dish is quite important, the daal ideally needs to be washed and soaked – this will reduce the cooking time.

  Once the daal has cooked for 30 minutes – the cooking of the meat is the next priority, followed by the rice.

Cooking the dall

• Wash your toor daal until the water runs clear and the oil has washed away. Once washed ideally soak overnight or at least 1 hour prior to cooking.
• Add the washed daal to a suitable saucepan; to the daal the whole spices: star anise, mace and daager phool (stone flower)

  Cover the dall with fresh water, add enough to approx 2 inches about the dall – you will need to top up more as required. Place your saucepan on a medium heat and allow the dall mixture to come to a simmer.
• You will need to stir occasionally to ensure the dall mixture doesn’t catch at the bottom of your saucepan. The daal needs to cook completely until it starts to break up and get mushy, this process will take at least 1¼ to 1½ hours. It is important the daal is properly cooked through.
• Whilst the daal is cooking, you should start cooking the lamb – a good guide would be around 30 minutes after the daal, this will ensure the dall and gosht (lamb) will be ready at approx the same time.

Cooking the lamb (gosht)

• Using a suitable lidded pot. Add oil and whole spices: bay leaf, cinnamon, whole cumin seeds and green cardamoms. Heat the pot until the oil is hot and the whole spices have started to sizzle, this is the time to add the sliced onions.

  Note: The pot should be large enough to fit both the dall and the meat, as you will be combining the two at the end of the recipe.
• The onions will require cooking until translucent and slightly golden on the edges. Next you need to add is the ginger and garlic, on low to medium heat allow this to sauté until the rawness from these two ingredients has cooked. If your pot is too hot add two tablespoons of water.
• You are now ready to add the meat, turmeric and salt. Mix well and allow this to sauté, cover with the lid and set the cooker to a medium heat. We need to cook the meat 80% before you add the next set of ingredients.
• When the meat is 80% cooked, we need to add the remainder of the spices: chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and the grated tomato. Give this a good mix and on ow heat allow the spices of the tomato to cook.
• Once the daal is cooked through and mushy, take the dall off the heat and allow this to cool slightly. Thereafter you can blitz it with a hand blender until smooth.

  Once blended, you can sieve it for a smooth silky finish – optional step
• Add the blitzed daal and fresh green chillies (optional) to the meat and allow this to cook 10 minutes before we move to temper the daal gosht (lentils and meat)
• After 10 minutes – check that the meat is fully cooked, you can switch of the cooking appliance for the daal. Otherwise remain on slow cook until the meat is fully cooked.

Cooking the rice

• Meanwhile, we can prepare our rice. For this will will require rice, chana daal, the whole spices and a sliced onion.

  You will require a suitable cooking pot with a lid to cook your rice.

  Wash and soak the rice and chana daal separately.
• Once soaked – Remove water from the rice and chana daal.
• Put 5 cups of water to boil in a large pot or kettle.
• To your rice cooking pot add oil, ghee, whole spices and your sliced onion – heat your pot and allow the onions to cook until translucent.
• Add the soaked and drained chana dall and sauté for a minute.
• Add 5 cups of boiling water and salt, allow this to come to a boil before you add the rice – at this point your cooker should be on a high heat setting.
• Add the soaked basmati rice and bring the pot back upto a boil. Continue cooking the rice until most of the water has been absorbed by the rice and you will see the bubbles of water appear on the surface of the rice.
• When almost all of the water has evaporated from the rice, Reduce the heat down to the lowest setting. Cover the pot with foil and cover with the lid. We need to let the rice slowly cook on ‘dum’ for a further 10 minutes. Thereafter switch off the heat and allow the rice to stand for a further ten minutes without opening the lid.

Tempering the dall gosht

• Finally, we need to temper the dall and add the final garnish – in saucepan add oil, chopped garlic, whole cumin seeds and allow these to sizzle for around 2 mins on a medium heat – ensure the garlic does not burn. Thereafter add the freshly chopped fenugreek leaves. Allow this cook for a further 2 minutes on medium heat, ensuring the fenugreek does not burn.
• Add the temper mixture to the daal and cover with the lid immediately.
• Garnish with chopped coriander and chopped mint leaves.
• Allow the coriander and mint this to infuse for 2 minutes before adding the garam masala.

  Taste the daal for seasoning and adjust, as necessary.
• Check the rice and fork to separate the grains.

  Optional – add fried onions as a garnish to your rice before serving.
• Chalo Bolo Bismillah.