MUTTON SHANK KORMA

This Lucknowi recipe is made using only mutton shanks or nallis is they are called in
India. It has a rich, thick gravy, not particularly spicy but aromatic with cardamom, mace,
essence of keora or the screwpine flower, and saffron.
This dish has a Moghul influence. Oriiginally almonds would almost certainly have been
used instead of cashew nuts. You can use a mixture of the two, for even better effect.
The flavour and consistency of the morrow-bone stock is essential to this dish. If you wish
to use boneless meat, then make a stock with shank bones, 2 cloves garlic, i bay leaf and
boil for 1 hour. Strain and use instead of water to make the gravy

Serves 6-7
a few strands of saffron	1kg mutton nallis and other pieces
1 tablespoon keora or rose-water	2 teaspoons coriander powder
¹/₂ cup oil	1 teaspoon garam masala powe
400g onions, thinkly sliced	salt
40g cashew nuts (or a mixture of almonds and cashews	2 teaspoons red chilli powder
4 green chillies, chopped	3 tablespoons whole milk yoghurt
2 cinnamon leaves (tej patta)	³/₄ teaspoon mace powder (javitri)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger	¹/₃ teaspoon caradamom powder (or 3 green cardamoms pounded with a little water)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic	juice of 1 lime

1 Soak the saffron strands in the keora or rose-water for a mininum of 15 minutes.
2 Heat half the oil in a cooking pot and fry the onion until medum-brown. Add the cashew nuts and almonds if used and coninue to fry until the onions are deep brown.
3 With a spatula extract the oil from the onions by pressing against the side of the pot. Trans-fer the onions and uts to a bowl and leave to cool. Place in a blender and puree.
4 In the remaining oil saute the green chillies, cinnamon or bay leaf, ginger, garlic, lamb,conriander powder, and half the garam masala and 1 teaspoon salt for 10 minutes, stirring continuously. Then on a low fire add the red chilli powder and the yoghurt, stir continuously for 3 minutes, and leave to simmer until the yoghurt is absorbed.
5 Add the fried onion puree and mix well. Put in the remaining garam masala, the mace and cardamom powders and saute for a couple of minutes. Add 4 cups water an dcook until the meat is tender. Before transferring to a serving dish, stir in the lime jice and the saffron in the
flower water.shanks are much smaller in India than in the Wesh.