Ingredients
1tspcumin seeds
6dried red chile peppers,preferably Kashmiri
¼cupapple cider vinegar
1clovegarlic,coarsely chopped, or more to taste
3tbspvegetable oil
2onions,finely chopped
2tspginger garlic paste
5tbsptomato paste
1tspground red pepper,(cayenne) or to taste
¼tspground turmeric
¼tspground cinnamon
¼tspground cloves
2lbslamb shanks,cut into 1½-inch pieces
½tspsalt
3cupswater
1tbspfresh cilantro,chopped
Preparation
Place the cumin seeds into a dry skillet over medium heat, and toast them, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute until they give off a roasted fragrance and turn a darker brown.
Scrape the seeds into a bowl, and allow them to cool. When cool, grind them with a mortar and pestle or a clean spice grinder. Set the ground seed aside.
Remove stems of chiles if necessary, and soak pods in the apple cider vinegar in a bowl for at least 1 hour until soft.
Place the softened chiles with vinegar, cumin, and garlic into a blender or food processor, and pulse for 30 seconds to 1 minute or as needed until ground into a paste.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat, and cook and stir the onions for about 10 minutes until lightly browned. Stir in ginger garlic paste and about 1 teaspoon of the chile paste mixture or as desired.
Reduce heat to medium-low, and fry the onions with the pastes for 5 minutes to blend flavors. Stir in tomato paste, ground red pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, and cloves, and bring to a simmer. Cook to blend flavors for about 20 minutes.
Mix in the lamb shank pieces, and stir in salt to taste; simmer for 20 minutes, and stir in the water.
Bring the lamb and sauce to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and simmer for 45 more minutes until the lamb is very tender and the sauce has thickened.
Sprinkle with chopped cilantro to serve. Enjoy!
