forgotten name of this lamb/mint dish...
David Johnstone
main course was a dish with Lamb in a fairly hot sauce,
quite creamy, slightly sweet, with mint being the most
noticable component.
It was called something like Lamb Nirgili, Nirgali, maybe
also Nirigli or Nargili... perhaps these are all a little off
though since google couldn't help either...
Perhaps it's just the word for mint in some Indian language?
Can anyone correct me?
Thanks, David
Pete Fenelon
> Had a delicous meal the other day at an Indian restaurant,
> main course was a dish with Lamb in a fairly hot sauce,
> quite creamy, slightly sweet, with mint being the most
> noticable component.
> It was called something like Lamb Nirgili, Nirgali, maybe
> also Nirigli or Nargili... perhaps these are all a little off
> though since google couldn't help either...
The Nawaab chain does a dish called "Nirali" that it describes as
"marinated with yoghurt and special masala sauce with selected herbs,
cooked with fresh tomatoes, ginger, onions and a blend of spices with
fresh double cream, garnished with cashew nuts and fried onions". Could
it be that?
Could also have been Hariyali which is an uncommon but usually rather
good mint-based dish...
Nirali, according to http://www.niralimagazine.com, "means "different"
in several South Asian languages".
pete
--
pe...@fenelon.com "That is enigmatic. That is textbook enigmatic..." - Dr Who
"There's no room for engimas in built-up areas." - N Blackwell
yogigupta
yogurt to make creamy sauce. Fresh peppermint and cilantro are also
added. Normally, Nilgiri dishes are spicy hot. Perhaps, this
resutaurant just doubled up on peppermint. If you google for Nilgiri
Lamb Korma, may be the ingredients will further help you isolate the
dish.
Yogi
David Johnstone
Thanks guys - the Nirali sounds delicous, but I think it was
Nilgiri I had, I'm pretty sure there was "g" in it. Having googled
it seems Nilgiri is a region, also well-known for it's tea, so perhaps
mint also grows there?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_Hills
Thanks again, David
mightym...@hotmail.com
I know the dish you are refering to, I cannot recall the correct
spelling at present, They serve it at an Indian Restaurant in Black
Notley, Essex as a Chefs Special.
There is also a recipe for it in the The Noon Book of Authentic Indian
Cookery.
If you wish I can dig it out for you.
mightym...@hotmail.com
Nilgiri Korma
A korma originating from the area around the Nilgiris mountain range
where herbs and spices grow in abundance.
This recipe comes from the Noon book of Classic Indian cookery.
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 green chillies, seeded and chopped
200g fresh coriander
100g fresh mint
100g cashew nuts, lightly fried
150ml vegetable stock
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
1 star anise
200g onions
1kg boneless leg of lamb, cut into bite sized pieces
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
150g desiccated coconut
150ml coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
Large knob of fresh ginger cut into julienne strips
Salt to taste
Put the ginger, garlic, green chillies, fresh coriander, mint and 250ml
water in a blender and process to a smooth paste and then set to one
side.
Put the fried cashew nuts into the cleaned-out blender with 150ml water
and puree to a fine paste.
Heat the oil in a pan, add the whole spices and
let them crackle for 10 seconds. Add the onions and fry until golden
brown.
Add the meat, ground coriander, chilli powder, desiccated coconut and
some salt and cook, stirring, for about 20 minutes, until all the
juices from the meat dry up.
Reduce the heat; add the green paste and
cashew nut paste and cook stirring for about 20 minutes, until the oil
separates from the mixture. Pour in the coconut milk and 1 litre water.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 25 minutes, then stir in the garam
masala. Garnish with the ginger strips and serve.
David Johnstone
> As posted to usenet in 2002
>
> Nilgiri Korma
>
>
> A korma originating from the area around the Nilgiris mountain range
> where herbs and spices grow in abundance.
Thanks, that's definitely what I had. Mint and Coriander were the two
main taste directions. Also, I actually found a website with the menu
of the restaurant I ate at:-
http://www.igast.de/restaurants/germany/bayern/93047.htm
The recipe looks delicous, if a lot of work. Perhaps I'll have a go
at doing one myself! The Nilgiri hills sounds like an interesting
region to visit too.
David
David Johnstone
>...
> I tried this at the weekend, with, err, 'interesting' results. A
> coupld of comments on the recipe:
>...
Good points, thank you!
There's nothing like practical experience to a recipe.
I just skimmed over the ingredient list and thought that
seemed like a lot of mint and coriander, but you're right,
the orders of magnitude just don't make sense.
Possibly somebody fouled up converting from imperial to
metric? In any case mint and coriander are very light, 100
or 200g would be a vast quantity I think.
Also I can't imagine any indian sauce taking a litre of
water for a normal quantity - that would totally drown
everything. What I had in the restaurant was a fairly
stiff sauce so that it more or less clung to the pieces
of lamb.
Thanks a lot for your input - I'll certainly do a bit more
research and thinking before following this one blind!
David
David Johnstone
> >Also I can't imagine any indian sauce taking a litre of
> >water for a normal quantity - that would totally drown
> >everything.
>
> reduce it anywhere near enough
That seems like a long time - did it cause the meat to disintegrate?
> >What I had in the restaurant was a fairly
> >stiff sauce so that it more or less clung to the pieces
> >of lamb.
>
> Could you describe the flavours? You mention that you could still
> obviously taste the mint, but was there anything else that came
> through?
Hmm, I wish I could remember better. There was definitely mint
and coriander, it was also surprisingly hot and fairly rich (coconut
milk or cream), perhaps a hint of something nutty. It was
certainly absolutely delicous as a whole, if I'm back in Regensburg
soon I'll have it again and pay more attention!
>
> >Thanks a lot for your input - I'll certainly do a bit more
> >research and thinking before following this one blind!
>
> I've never been one to blindly follow recipes, and didn't even in this
> case, but it was so different in its cooking from anything I'd done
> before...
Yes, well, a lot of it is a question of experience.
I don't cook that often, so I don't have such a good feel for things
and I like to have an exact recipe to follow when I'm unsure,
though in moments of bravado or desperation I may deviate from it...
David