Recipe: how to cook Ritu Seasons of India’s delicious Champaran Gosht lamb curry recipe

All across London, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants have made a name for themselves cooking beautifully tender lamb curries.

In Whitechapel, the East End institution Tayyabs is synonymous with Karahi Gosht - with waiters serving dozens of piping hot woks of curry, originating from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. In north- west London, as part of its new seasonal spring menu, Ritu Seasons of India has created another take on the lamb curry, this time hailing from India’s north-eastern province of Bihar.

The fine dining restaurant based in St John’s Wood is serving Champaran Gosht, which involves lamb being cooked in traditional clay pots with mustard oil, onions and spices. The result - which has rarely, if ever been cooked in the UK before - is a deep-flavoured, rich curry, with soft meat that just dissolves in your mouth.

Luckily you don’t need a clay pot to make this, and culinary director Navin Prasad - the former head chef at Mayfair’s Benares - has shared the recipe with LondonWorld’s readers. After years in the business, Navin spent eight years travelling across India and understanding the richness of the cuisine.

To his surprise, there were some amazing dishes - including the Champaran Gosht - that had never made it out of the country, which became a driving motivation behind the creation of Ritu. And Navin advises when cooking: “The ingredients should not be stirred constantly and the flame should be low. Alternatively this preparation can be done in a pressure cooker.”

Champaran Gosht

Serves two

Ingredients

• Lamb leg boneless and diced - 300g
• Ginger garlic paste - 50g
• Sliced red onion - 150g
• Red chilli powder - 25g
• Turmeric powder - 10g
• Coriander powder - 40g
• Cumin powder - 10g
• Whole Cardamom - 5 pods
• Cinnamon - 1 inch
• Bay leaf - 2 leaves
• Coriander stalks cut up - 50g
• Mustard oil - 10ml
• Salt to taste

Method

• Heat the mustard oil in a sauce pan and crackle the whole spices.
• Add the onions and cook till transparent.
• Add all the remaining ingredients and saute for a few minutes.
• Cover with just enough water and then check the seasoning.
• Reduce the flame and close the sauce pan with a good fitting lid.
• Cook for 30 minutes and give its a stir and close the lid.
• Repast every 30 minutes until cooked - this should take one-and-a-half to two hours on a low flame.
• Remove and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve with rice, naan or parathas.

Find out more at Ritu Seasons of India’s website.