Gosht Poshto (Poppy Seed Lamb)

Even before I started reducing my meat intake, lamb was pretty rare in our kitchen. Now it's almost unheard of. I ended up with a small amount a few weeks ago though. With it being such an infrequent and special thing, I wanted to make sure I put it to the best use possible. I spent quite a while flipping through the curry cookbook looking for the perfect recipe to make with it. I ended up settling on gosht poshto, a Bengali specialty full of toasted white poppy seeds.

Iyer suggests serving this curry with elambuchambu shaadum and Kutchi paneer. I made the rice dish, but I substited the suggested paneer curry for a different one: paneer hariyali. The green paneer worked much better for my purposes as it calls for crumbled paneer and I felt like the mint would complement the lamb nicely. Plus it was a recipe we hadn't tried before whereas we'd already done the Kutchi paneer previously.

I think the rice actually ended up being the weakest part of the meal. The lamb and the paneer were both excellent! I would definitely make either one of them again. Except, realistically, if I get more lamb, I'm going to try out a new recipe rather than repeating something we've already made. But the sentiment is there.

Gosht Poshto

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 450g cubed lamb (boneless leg of lamb or stewing lamb)
• 2 Tbsp. mustard oil
• 1 Tbsp. panch phoron
• 1-4 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 4 bay leaves (Indian/cassia or bay laurel)
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 1/2 c. water, divided
• 2 Tbsp. white poppy seeds
• 1/2 tsp. Bangala garam masala

Directions

1. Combine ginger paste, garlic paste, cilantro, and lamb and mix well.
2. Cover and cill for at least one hour. (Overnight is best.)
3. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add panch phoron and chilies and cook for 15-20 seconds.
5. Add the lamb, onion, and bay leaves and cook, stirring, until meat is beginning to brown and the onion is softened (8-10 minutes).
6. Stir in the salt.
7. Add 1 c. water and degaze the pan.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is very tender (30-35 minutes).
9. Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat.
10. Add the poppy seeds to the small skillet and toast them, shaking frequently, for 1-2 minutes. They should be lightly browned, but not burnt, and smell rich and nutty.
11. Transfer poppy seeds to a plate to cool. Do not leave them in the hot skillet or they may burn!
12. Once the poppy seeds have cooled, grind them and set aside.
13. Once the lamb is tender, stir in the ground toasted poppy seeds and the garam masala.
14. Add the remaining 1/2 c. water and stir once or twice to combine.
15. Serve over rice.