Witchy Kitchen

Tag: goat

  • Mawmenny

    Mawmenny

    As a lover of both medieval and desi food, I get excited when they collide, as in this dish which is basically a medieval curry. Thanks, Spice Route!

    There are lots of variations, some with chicken, beef, or mutton (or a mixture), some cooked in wine, some in almond milk, some sweetened with sugar and dates, all spiced with cinnamon and cloves. (See this recipe, which sources a few olde receipts). Some were colored red with sandalwood, most garnished with nuts.

    Because of the warm spices and the almonds, I made mine similar to a Mughlai korma, and it turned out rich, fragrant, and lovely.

    As Game of Thrones fare…

    This is the upscale version of bowls of brown – that is if better ingredients were available than stale bread, meat gristle and sewer water! When the hipster noble houses start gentrifying Flea Bottom, you can look for mawmenny establishments to start popping up for sure.

    Note: if you don’t have all the spices, or if you’d rather use beef or chicken than goat, go for it! Medieval chefs are resourceful. This recipe is very versatile, use whatever meat and at least the cinnamon and cloves and you should be good.

    Mawmenny

    • 2 pounds bone-in goat cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces (you can also use lamb, beef, or chicken)
    • 1 cup dry red wine
    • 6 cloves garlic, chopped, divided
    • salt & pepper
    • 2 1/2 medium onions
    • 2 inches ginger, peeled and chopped
    • ground spices: 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
    • 4 tablespoons ghee, divided (or you can use half and half butter and oil)
    • whole spices: 1 stick cinnamon, 8 cloves, 2 black cardamoms
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 1/4 cup almonds, ground
    • 1/4 cup almonds, slivered

    Marinate meat in wine, 2 cloves garlic, and generously seasoned with salt and pepper, for at least an hour and ideally over night.

    Grind together onions, 4 cloves garlic, ginger, and ground spices. On medium high, heat 3 tablespoons ghee, and cook the onion mixture, stirring frequently at first and constantly at the end, until liquid has evaporated and the mixture has darkened in color. Crank the heat up to high and add whole spices and the meat (along with the marinade), and cook, stirring, until liquid has mostly evaporated and meat is sealed, being careful not to burn. Add sugar, ground almonds and water to just cover, bring to a boil and lower to a simmer. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is very soft, 2-2 1/2 hours (will be less for chicken, only 20-30 minutes).

    Meanwhile, in a small pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee and fry the slivered almonds, stirring gently, until golden. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

    When meat is ready, remove cover, raise heat and thicken up the sauce, stirring frequently. When it’s thick enough, garnish with almonds and serve hot with bread.

    From Game of Thrones menu Queen in the North

  • Margoog

    Margoog

    This is my month to host the MENA Cooking Club; I was excited to volunteer for Qatar because it’s one of the only Middle Eastern countries I’ve actually been to, if only for a layover in Doha on our way to Pakistan. Qatar, may I say your airline is amazing, and extremely accommodating to travelers with babies!

    I had no idea it would be difficult to find Qatari recipes (it’s just Googling, right?), but the recipes I suggested all got rejected, even those straight from a Qatar-based website! There appears to be a lot of misinformation out there (shocking, I know – something on the internet is wrong). And the recipe they decided to use instead says it’s from the Najd region, which is in Saudi Arabia? So who knows 😉

    A little frustrating, but I guess this experience just highlights why Noor’s goal to bring more awareness to Middle Eastern food is valuable. Good job, Noor!

    Anyway, I may be a terrible hostess, but I’m a decent cook, and I love to try new ingredients. This time it was black lemon, which are actually dehydrated limes, and I just loved the flavor they imparted to this dish. I often squirt lemon or lime juice at the end to lighten up a heavy curry; this was the same concept only less sharp, more mellow, the sweet tartness cooked right in. I used three because I didn’t know how strong they would be, and I think it came out well (although I would have liked a fourth for an extra-lemony broth).

    Margoog is traditionally served either poured over thin flatbread (I love the concept of bread soup, see my Spring Ribollita) or else baked with a dough stretched over the top like a pot pie (edit: I misunderstood, it’s actually thin discs of dough that you drop into the hot pot, and they cook in the liquid like dumplings).

    However, I forwent this very important step (blasphemy!) because we’ve just started this low-carb meal plan at home to help my mother-in-law, who is diabetic, get her blood sugar under control. She’s made really good progress, so as much as I would like to make a lovely crust for this fragrant steamy stew (sigh, that sounds like pure comfort food)…I instead added extra vegetables.

    Margoog

    Note: this doesn’t include the dough which is a key part of traditional margoog, if you are interested see this recipe for method

    • 2 pounds bone-in goat, cut by butcher into 1 inch pieces
    • salt & pepper
    • olive oil
    • To flavor the broth: 2 smashed garlic cloves, 1 stick cinnamon, and 3 black lemons, slit
    • 3-4 shallots, sliced
    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon coriander
    • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
    • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon kashmiri chili (less spicy, I did this so kids could eat it) or cayenne (more spicy)
    • 1 head cauliflower, cut/broken into florets
    • 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thick chunks
    • 3 zucchini, cut into thick chunks

    Season goat with salt and pepper. In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil and brown the goat on both sides, in two batches, removing the first batch to a plate. When they are all browned, deglaze the pot with a little water, then add the rest of the goat back in, plus garlic, cinnamon and black lemons, and water to just cover. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, covered, for an hour to an hour and a half, until goat is very tender, adding more water when necessary.

    Meanwhile, in another cooking vessel (I used a wok), heat another three tablespoons olive oil. Saute shallots until very golden, being careful not to burn. Add garlic and stir for a minute or two, then add tomatoes, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and kashmiri chili. Cook until tomatoes are broken down, thick and jammy, and most of the liquid has evaporated.

    Combine the goat and tomato mixtures in whichever pot is bigger so you have room for all the veggies (I put the goat into my wok). Add cauliflower and carrot and mix well, adding water so they are not quite covered. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes, then add zucchini and cook, covered, 10 more minutes, until all veggies are tender. Simmer uncovered for about 10 more minutes, until stew has thickened up a little (but still a little brothy).

    Garnish with a little chopped mint (optional) and and serve hot!

    This was lovely, but I am wickedly looking forward to pouring leftovers over naan at my desk lunch tomorrow.