A spicy yet simple lamb and chickpea curry.
The Story
I came across this particular dish after my husband found me scrolling through pinterest one evening and asked if he could take a look at some dishes, I reluctantly said yes. Whilst he was browsing all the while hogging the phone (not letting me look} “now this looks nice” I said “what is it” he said “Bengali (or was it bangladeshi?) lamb and chickpea curry”.
Yesterday I typed the words Bengali lamb chickpea curry and pinterest churned up 2 yes 2 dishes, both not what my husband had seen (he obviously has no background knowledge of pinterest i.e. when you see deliciousness pin it to a board)
Today I went ahead anyway with this recipe (recipe can also be found here) but changed things slightly, I’m so glad I did, it was simple spicy deliciousness.
How It’s Made
First I prepped the ingredients and skipped a big step of soaking and boiling chickpeas, I used tinned instead.
Instead of the 5 1/2 tablespoon oil I used 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp ghee. First I fried onion, garlic and ginger for a minute or two and then added lamb and continued to cook until sealed on all sides, about 5 minutes.
In goes ground coriander, cumin and chilli powder (I used cayenne) along with the must have S&P and cooked for 1-2 minutes more. Why black pepper when It’s already got chilli powder? well I always like to add a little to any dish and well it’s only 1/8 tsp!
Tomatoes are next in and again I cheated a little and used tinned along with a pinch of sugar, I am not a fan of acidic tomatoes but as you noticed I’m rather lazy too. Continue cooking uncovered over a low heat until the meat is done, I didn’t time this but I’d say about 10 minutes.
Lastly in with chickpeas and 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, remove from heat and sprinkle with coriander, jobs a good’un.
As the liquid in the original recipe is the reserved chickpea cooking water I was a little apprehensive using regular water therefore, I only added 1 cup water oppose to the original 1 1/2 cups but It worked out well as I was happy with the overall consistency and amount of sauce.
Now, were I to describe this dish to a north African I would say it’s just like Chtitha – usually meat or chicken with chickpeas in a spicy red sauce. Chtitha from the word chtih means dance and yes the spicy flavours from this curry certainly do dance around on your tongue without overwhelming heat yet enough to want to wash the dish down with a mango lassi.
Mangsho Ghugni – Bengali Lamb & Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
- 200 grams Halal Lamb fillet, boneless and cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoon olive oil (you can use any you like)
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 1/4 cup chopped onion (for me that was 1/2 a small onion)
- 1 teaspoon grated garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1/4 cup canned chopped tomatoes (add a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity)
- 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder (i used cayenne)
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup water
- small handful coriander leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients = Mise en place
- Heat the oil and ghee in a pan over medium-low heat
- Add the onions, ginger, garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes
- Add lamb pieces and cook until sealed on all sides, about 5 minutes
- Add spices and continue to cook whilst stirring often for 1-2minutes
- Add tomatoes simmer until lamb is cooked, about 10 minutes
- Add the chickpeas along with the water, let the mixture come to a boil then reduce to simmer for 5-10mins until sauce has reduced to desired consistency.
- Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.
Notes
- You could use Mangsho (mutton) or a less expensive type of lamb but adjust cooking time and amount of liquid (add some water with the tomatoes)
- Serve with rice or Desi flatbread
