Qovurma Mastava with Bone-In Lamb and Garlic Suzma

Method

1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then soak it for 30 minutes. Cut the lamb into 5 cm pieces on the bone and pat them completely dry. Slice the onion into thin half-moons, cut the carrot and bell pepper into 5 mm sticks, dice the potato into 1.5 cm cubes, and grate the tomato, discarding the skin.

2. Set the pot over medium heat with no oil and toast the cumin and coriander seeds for 1 min, shaking, until fragrant; tip them out at once and crush them coarsely in a mortar or under a knife. Toasted too long, they turn bitter.

   Add in this stepWhole cumin seeds ¾ tspWhole coriander seeds ½ tsp

   medium heat

3. Add the oil to the same 22 cm pot over medium-high heat and sear the lamb for 10 min, turning, until deep brown on every side. If the pieces don't fit in one layer, brown them in two batches; crowded meat steams instead of browning.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 2 tbspBone-in lamb neck or shoulder (or beef shin) 400 g

   medium-high heat

4. Lower to medium heat, add the onion and cook for 7 min; once it is deep golden, add the carrot, bell pepper, most of the garlic and the chilli and cook until the carrot softens. Use the moisture from the vegetables to scrape up the brown bits on the bottom.

   Add in this stepOnion (medium) 1Carrot, cut into thin sticks 140 gBell pepper ½Garlic cloves 2⅛Whole dried red chilli ½

   medium heat

5. Stir in the tomato paste and fry over medium heat for about 1 minute until brick red, then add the grated tomato and the crushed spices and cook for 3 min in total, until most of the liquid has gone.

   Add in this stepTomato paste 2 tspTomato (medium) 1

   medium heat

6. Add the water, bay leaf and some of the salt and bring to the boil over high heat, skimming off all the foam. Turn down to low heat, set the lid ajar and simmer for 55 min, until the meat slips off the bone. Careful skimming keeps the broth clean-tasting.

   Add in this stepWater 900 mlBay leaf 1Salt ½ tsp

   high heat→low heat

7. Lift out the lamb, pull the meat off the bones in bite-size pieces and return it to the pot. Add the drained rice, potato, more of the salt and the black pepper and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 min, scraping the bottom often, until the rice is very soft and the soup is thick. Fish out the bay leaf.

   Add in this stepShort- or medium-grain rice 50 gPotato 160 gSalt ½ tspBlack pepper 1 pinch

   medium-low heat

8. Finely grate the remaining garlic into the yogurt and stir in the last of the salt to make the suzma. Turn off the heat under the soup and rest it for 3 min, then ladle into bowls, top with a generous spoonful of suzma and scatter with dill and coriander.

   Add in this stepGreek yogurt (as suzma) 5 tbspGarlic cloves 0.9Salt ⅛ tspChopped dill 2 tbspChopped coriander leaves 2 tbsp