Shalgum Ka Gosht (Lamb with Turnips)

Mutton marinated in spiced yogurt mixture and cooked with turnips (Shalgum).

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Lamb cut into small pieces
• 2 medium turnips peeled and sliced
• 2 medium onions sliced
• ¼ cup yogurt
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 4 Cloves
• 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp Red chili Powder
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
• ¼ cup ghee/cooking oil

Method:

• Mix yogurt, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, and salt together. Marinate the lamb in this mixture for 1 hour.
• Heat the oil in a large, wide, and preferably non stick pan over medium flame.
• When hot put in the onions. Stir and fry until the onions are reddish brown color. Remove the onions with slotted spoon, squeezing out and leaving behind as much oil as you can. Keep a little of brown onion slices aside to garnish the dish and put the rest into the blender or food processor. Grind to a smooth paste.
• Heat the oil that was left over from frying the onions, again.
• Add bay leaf and cloves to it. After few seconds, add meat pieces without marinade and fry for 5-6 minutes on high heat, stirring every now and then.
• Now add the onion paste and marinade to the meat. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to stir and fry till the oil begins to separate from the meat masala. Sprinkle a little water whenever the masala begins to stick to the pan or burn. Season it with salt to taste.
• Now put in 2-3 cups of water and turnips. Bring the pan to a boil. Turn the heat to medium low and cook covered (At this stage you can transfer meat turnip mixture in a pressure cooker to cook it faster).
• When the meat is cooked and tender, remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle the garam masala over it. Cover and simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes.
• Open the cover and garnish with previously fried onions and chopped fresh coriander leaves.
• Serve with hot roti (Indian flat bread).

Do You Know?

Turnips are a member of the cruciferous family, along with broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage etc.

Turnips are extremely rich in folic acid which is necessary for cell growth. Folic acid (folate) is crucial for cell reproduction within a fetus. Pregnant women are often advised to get extra amounts of folic acid. Most dark green vegetables are high in folic acid.