Shinwari karahi takes its name from the Shinwari, one of the large Pashtun tribes of the old North-West Frontier, who also lend their name to the salt-and-pepper lamb chops once grilled at Kabul’s riverside kebab stalls. It is the plainest karahi in the atlas. Lamb goes into a wok of hot fat, ghee or rendered tail fat, with a spoonful of ginger and garlic, and after that the seasoning is salt, coarse black pepper and green chilli. There is no onion and no ground spice. Tomatoes are optional. The lamb cooks under a lid in its own juices until soft, then the heat goes up and it fries until the fat runs clear of the meat. The dumba karahi of the Indus Plains, by contrast, is built on onion, chilli powder and cumin. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this is a dish for Eid al-Adha, cooked from the lamb the family has sacrificed, and it goes to the table with fresh naan and a plate of raw onion in lemon juice.
INGREDIENTS
- 900 g lamb shoulder or neck on the bone (with some fat, in large pieces)
- 200-240 ml ghee or rendered lamb fat (less if the meat is fatty)
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 6 green chillies (slit lengthways)
- 1½ tsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 3 tomatoes (chopped (optional))
- 2 onions (thinly sliced, for the salad)
- juice of 1 lemon (for the salad)
- ½ tsp salt (for the salad)
- 2 green chillies (sliced, for the salad)
METHOD
- Heat the ghee in a karahi or wok until hot but not smoking. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir until it smells cooked, without letting it colour.
- Add the lamb and fry for 5 to 7 minutes, turning it in the fat.
- Add two of the green chillies, the salt and a large pinch of the black pepper.
- Add the tomatoes now, if using. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer in the meat’s own juices, checking now and then, for 40 to 60 minutes until the lamb is tender.
- Uncover, turn the heat to high and fry, stirring, until the liquid has cooked away and the fat separates from the meat.
- Add the remaining green chillies and the rest of the black pepper, then keep it over a very low heat while you make the salad.
- Toss the sliced onions with the lemon juice, salt and sliced green chillies.
- Serve the karahi from the pan, with the onion salad and hot naan.
