Halal meat on B'way in Elmhurst? anyone tried it?

[icelandadam]

the bangladeshi and indian bodegas on broadway, between 82 and what ever that street is just past top line....anyway they sell halal meat i was wondering if anyone has tried it yet? i want goat real bad and i figure if its good there, those guys know whats up. thanks

[Joe MacBu]

Dunno. I get my goat legs from Ottomanelli's in Woodside and it has always been good. Same price as the halal guys (~$4/lb) but you might have to order it a day or two in advance.

[icelandadam]

can i get a physical addy....also a recipe? what do you roast it whole? any recipe you have would be great!!! thank you!

[Joe MacBu]

I usually have them cut it for me into 1.5 inch cubes and I make a curry with it. I've also smoked a whole leg. Ottomanelli's goat leg is usually quite tender (for instance, as a curry it is fork tender in 30-45min whereas the goat I get at other places takes 1.5-3 hours). For this reason, you could probably roast it to medium rare like with a lamb. You could try the shoulder as well. Any lamb recipe will work with goat.

Sorry, I don't have a recipe since I usually just wing it. Basically sear the salted meat until well-browned in a smoking hot dutch oven with ghee or mustard or peanut oil. Remove. Add some fat and the spices for a few seconds (I usually include asafoetida, turmeric, cumin, coriander, bay leaves, dried chilis, etc.). Add onion, ginger, garlic and salt and saute until soft. Add something acidic like tomatoes or yogurt and keep over low heat for a few minutes. Return the meat to the pot. Add a little bit of water or stock. Cover and simmer over low heat until almost tender. Adjust the liquid to your liking. Taste for salt, acidity, chili heat. I add a little bit of garam masala (cloves, black pepper, cardamon, cinnamon, etc) and cook for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and then add a handful of chopped fresh cilantro (including the stems cuz that's the best part). This is a pretty basic South Asian curry.

An actual recipe that I've made several times is the one by Camellia Punjabi from Great Curries of India. It's pretty simple and the following includes my adjustments. Unfortunately I don't have the actual recipe since a friend has absconded with the book. Sear the goat (maybe about 3 pounds) in ghee. Remove. Take like 50-100 whole green cardamon pods and pulverize it in a coffee grinder with probably a few TBSP of black peppercorns. There might be a bay leaf in there too. Make sure it's a fine powder. Mix it with some water to make a thick paste. Heat a pool of ghee/oil (probably at least 1/2 cup) over medium heat and add the spice paste. You need lots of oil to keep the spices from sticking and burning. Adjust the heat so that this will not happen and stir constantly for a full 10 minutes. I add quite a bit of minced garlic (not in recipe) and return the meat to the pot. Keep stirring for 5 min or so. Add a cup or more of full fat plain yogurt and keep stirring for a couple of minutes. Add some water (just a cup or 2?), cover and cook over low until tender. Adjust for seasoning and desired consistency.

[bigjeff]

joe, you should have just said that you "usually leg it." ha ha.

your recipe sounds great. but, for an easy recipe for goat (slow cooker is your friend) is to throw the cubes in with a whole lotta tomato paste, throw in as much spice in the form of crushed red peppers or fresh chili, olive oil/butter, minced onions and just cook it down. works like a charm and for all manner of bone-in meat like oxtail, pork neck bones, etc.

[missmasala]

this looks interesting and i would love to try it. do you really mean 50-100 cardamon pods?
also, could i make this with lamb instead of goat?

[Joe MacBu]

Yes missmasala, I do mean 50-100 pods, including the shell.
You could probably go with 30-50, but it is the predominat flavor of the dish and since goat is full flavored, it is not overwhelmed by the cardamom. Long cooking tempers cardamom a bit. Just make sure to grind it as fine as possible. You may wish to sift if you're aversive to the texture of not fully pulverized shells. I'm sure it'd taste fine if you use just the seeds as well.

The original recipe is for lamb. I just tend to always prefer goat.

[Joe MacBu]

I found the recipe online. The recipe states 35 cardamom pods for 1kg of meat. I usually make it with more meat so that's why I use 50-100 pods.

Search Google books for The Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi. Search within the book for Meat Cooked with Cardamom, Elaichi Gosht (Sindhi from Bombay). Page 72.

If you check out the original recipe, these are the modifications I've made after cooking this dish several times:
- I don't bother washing the meat
- I sear the meat first. I am a believer of the Maillard reaction.
- I use thick greek yogurt or at least full fat. Low fat can curdle. I use more than she calls for.
-I use ghee for the richest flavor. Mustard oil if I want a little more depth and pungency. Neutral oils will work fine.
-Sometimes a litle bit of cumin powder added with the coriander is great.
-I think I use less water than she calls for.
-I finish with chopped fresh cilanto.

[bigjeff]

gangster recipe and great notes; thank you!