Lamb Shorba with Peas.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Let me introduce you to a real Punjabi Winter warmer!
Today I'm showing you how to cook my Mother's lamb shorba with peas.
A shorba is a curry with a lot more water added than usual resulting in a thinner sauce. It's best made with meat on the bone because that is where all the flavours and I find that it's a lot lighter than a traditional curry with a thick sauce.
We love eating this shorba over hot boiled rice or with freshly made roti. You may think it looks like a soup but it's never served as a soup in my family. Feel free to try though and if you like it, let me know and I will try it too.

Shorba, previously: chicken and potato shorba // potato and ginger shorba

A Simple List of Ingredients:

1. Lamb Pieces, on the bone
2. Onions
3. Cinnamon Stick
4. Black Cardamoms
5. Cloves
6. Black Peppercorns
7. Tomato
8. Frozen Peas

9. Ginger Paste
10. Garlic Paste
11. Turmeric Powder
12. Ground Cumin
13. Ground Coriander
14. Red Chilli Powder
15. Garam Masala
16. Salt
17. Water
18. Vegetable Oil
19. Fresh Coriander

Bismillah, let's begin!

The main ingredient of the shorba is the lamb. For a really well-flavoured shorba, I prefer to use lamb on the bone. Today I'm using 1 and 1/2 pounds Lamb Pieces, on the bone and with no skin.

This shorba is the easiest to make. Start by putting a deep pot over a low heat. Add in the lamb pieces.

Peel and roughly chop 2 Onions. I used a red and white because that's what I had in the house.

Add in the chopped onions.

Shorba is made even better with whole spices. Measure out:
1 small Cinnamon Stick
3 Black Cardamoms
1/2 teaspoon Cloves
1/2 teaspoon Black Peppercorns

Add them in.

Then, measure and add in:

1 and 1/2 teaspoons Salt

2 teaspoons Ground Coriander

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder

1 teaspoon Ginger Paste

1 teaspoon Garlic Paste

Finally, add in 1 roughly chopped Tomato.

Pour in 300ml Water.

Give everything a stir.

And, bring to the boil over a medium heat.

Then, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 1 hour or until the lamb is tender. Give it a stir every now and then, pouring in more water if things get too dry.

Once the lamb is tender, uncover the pot. The shorba will have released some of its natural lamb oils.

But, we're going to stir-fry the curry now so let's add in a Few Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil. Stir fry the curry for around 5-10 minutes until the sauce has thickened up.

Then, add in Frozen Peas, to taste.

Along with Water, to taste. This will depend on how thick or thin you want your shorba sauce to be. Stir and bring to the boil before turning the heat down and letting the shorba bubble until the oil has risen to the surface. Taste and adjust the salt at this point too!

Finally, add in 1 teaspoon Garam Masala and a Handful of Fresh Coriander, finely chopped.

Stir the two in and our shorba is ready.

We love serving this shorba hot over boiled rice, with pilau rice, or with freshly made roti.

Lamb Shorba with Peas.

a real Punjabi Winter warmer!

Prep Time: About 10 minutes.

Cook Time: About 1 hour 30 minutes.

Serves: About 4-6 people.

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 pounds Lamb, on the bone and cut into pieces

2 Onions, peeled and roughly chopped

1 small Cinnamon Stick

3 Black Cardamoms

1/2 teaspoon Cloves

1/2 teaspoon Black Peppercorns

1 and 1/2 teaspoons Salt

2 teaspoons Ground Coriander

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder

1 Tomato, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon Ginger Paste 

1 teaspoon Garlic Paste

Water, as needed

Vegetable Oil, as needed

Frozen Peas, to taste

1 teaspoon Garam Masala

Handful Fresh Coriander, finely chopped

Into the pot:
Into a deep pot over a medium heat, put in everything except the oil, peas, garam masala and fresh coriander. Add in 300ml water and stir. Bring to the boil. Then, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 1 hour or until the lamb is tender. Give it a stir every now and then, pouring in more water if it gets too dry.

Stir-fry:
Add in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil, turn the heat up and stir-fry until the sauce thickens up. This can take about 5-10 minutes.

Turn into a shorba:
Pour in as much water as you would like. This will depend on how thin or thick you want your shorba sauce to be. Add the peas and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and let the shorba bubble until the oil has risen to the surface. Taste and adjust salt if needed.

Serve:
Stir in the garam masala and fresh coriander. We love this shorba with pulao, boiled rice, or fresh roti.

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your shorba!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!