Amma’s Lamb Curry -- The Recipe You Make When You’re Preparing for What’s Coming

The aftermath of Amma's driving incident. Arvind and I are tag-teaming Appa, trying to convince him that Amma needs to see a neurologist. It's like trying to convince a brick wall to become a window. "She's fine," Appa said when I called on Monday. "She was tired. She took a wrong turn. This is not a medical issue." "Appa, it's the third time—" "It's the first time she got lost." "The cinnamon in October. The coffee at Christmas. Now this." Silence. The dangerous Appa silence, the one that means he's heard you and he's not ready to hear you. "Your mother is sixty-four years old. Sixty-four-year-old people forget things. I forget things. Do I need a neurologist?" "You didn't forget how to make coffee." More silence. Then: "I'll think about it." And he hung up. "I'll think about it" from Appa is not a promise. It's a delay tactic. But it's also not a "no," and in the Krishnamurthy household, the absence of "no" is practically an invitation. Arvind came over for dinner on Sunday. We sat at my table — Raj, Arvind, and me — and talked about what to do. Raj, in clinical mode, explained the options: a referral to a neurologist, a cognitive assessment, imaging if warranted. He was careful with his words, using the language of medicine to create distance from the fear. "What's the best case?" Arvind asked. "Best case: normal age-related cognitive decline. Nothing pathological." "Worst case?" Raj paused. He looked at me. I looked at the table. "We'll deal with worst case if we get there," I said. I cooked for us — lamb curry, Amma's recipe, the one she makes for hard days. Lamb shoulder simmered with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and a spice paste made with coriander, cumin, fennel, and cinnamon. The word "cinnamon" caught in my throat as I said it to myself, because cinnamon is the word Amma forgot, the first crack in the wall. The lamb was tender. The gravy was dark and rich. We ate and planned and didn't say the word we were all thinking, because sometimes the bravest thing is to eat your mother's lamb curry and prepare for what's coming without giving it a name. Meanwhile, inside me: seven weeks. Lime-sized. Still there. I am holding two truths at once and both of them are breaking me and building me in equal measure.

I’m sharing Amma’s lamb curry recipe here because it’s the one I reached for that Sunday night with Arvind and Raj at my table, all of us planning and none of us saying the word. It’s the recipe Amma makes on hard days, and I suppose that’s exactly what this was — a hard day that needed something slow and dark and rich to hold us together. The cinnamon in the spice paste caught in my throat, but I ground it anyway, because you don’t stop cooking your mother’s food just because you’re frightened of what’s ahead.

Amma’s Lamb Curry

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 pounds bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil (sunflower or vegetable)
• 2 large yellow onions, finely diced
• 4 medium tomatoes, pureed (or one 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes)
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick (about 3 inches), plus 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon for the paste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder (adjust to taste)
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 cup warm water
• Fresh cilantro, for serving

Instructions

1. Make the spice paste. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and fennel seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Add the ground cinnamon and grind to a fine powder. Set aside.
2. Brown the lamb. Pat the lamb pieces dry with paper towels and season with salt. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the lamb in batches, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
3. Cook the aromatics. In the same pot, reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
4. Add the spice paste. Stir the ground spice mixture, turmeric, and chili powder into the onions. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly so the spices don’t burn.
5. Build the gravy. Add the pureed tomatoes and the cinnamon stick. Stir well, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook until the oil begins to separate from the tomato mixture, about 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Simmer the lamb. Return the lamb and any collected juices to the pot. Add the warm water and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until the lamb is fork-tender and the gravy is dark and thick, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Stir occasionally, adding a splash of water if needed.
7. Finish and serve. Remove the cinnamon stick. Taste and adjust salt. Serve over steamed basmati rice, garnished with fresh cilantro.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 385 | Protein: 32g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 480mg