Lamb or Beef Curry

Name: Lamb or Beef Curry (Kari bil-Laham)
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Cuisine: Iraqi
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon whole aniseed or fennel; 2 tablespoons oil; ½ teaspoon ginger; ¼ teaspoon whole mustard seeds, optional; ½ to 1 teaspoon chili pepper, or to taste; 1 lb (450 g) boneless lamb or beef, trimmed and cut into 1in/2.5cm cubes; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate, or pomegranate syrup; 2 or 3 cardamom pods; 2 cups (475 ml) hot water; 1 bay leaf; 2 tablespoons flour; 3 medium potatoes (about 12 oz/340 g), peeled and cut into 1in/2.5cm cubes, kept submerged in cold water. Drain when needed.; ½ teaspoon turmeric; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 3 cloves garlic, grated; 2 medium onions (about 1½ cups/9 oz/250 g), coarsely chopped; 1 teaspoon cumin; ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Kari bil-Laham

Preparation info

Makes
4
servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Delights from the Garden of Eden

By Nawal Nasrallah

Published 2019

About

Spicy dishes are the specialty of the southern region, especially the port city of Basra. This is largely due to the Indian influence, which is as old as the silk-road trade itself. During medieval times, the historian alMas’udi named the city ardh al-hind (land of India).

As you will notice, curry powder is not used in the recipe, but the components of the curry blend are present here. We learn from Lizzie Collingham in Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors that curry

Ingredients

Asia
Iraq
Basrah
Main course

Ingredients

Method