This is how this began. Out grocery shopping last week, we spied a fresh fennel. Very nicely sitting in organic packing. Buy we did, and then spent the next few days scouring around for interesting fennel recipes. I finally found what looked like a very interesting roasted fish with fennel recipe. Fish was sold out at the store so we got fresh mutton instead. We were looking for lamb but that is tough to find in Pune. This recipe is inspired by one I read on the internet with a lot of tweaking to suit our palette. The result was absolutely fantastic - extremely moist, tender mutton in a very flavorful gravy. And the aroma that wafts through your kitchen through the baking time! Though time-consuming to make, the time you spend is not - oven time is high. The results are so worth trying this at least once!
Serves 2
Ingredients
Spice Blend
1 tsp coriander seeds (dhania)
1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
3/4 tsp black pepper (kali mirch)
300 gms boneless mutton
8 garlic cloves, crushed (bigger than the blink-an-you-miss variety you usually get, smaller than the gigantic ones you see on TV)
1 1/2 medium onions, finely diced
2 carrots, diagonally cut into thick slices about 1 1/2 inches
3 celery, sliced (Don't use the leaves of Indian celery - these are quite bitter)
1 fennel bulb, discard stalks, cut vertically into 4 wedges
1 cup red wine (I usually use Madera which is economically priced and good for cooking)
1 1/2 cups chicken stock (or 1 stock cube dissolved in water)
3 cloves
1 star anise
1 bay leaf
1/2 - 1 tsp chilli powder, depending on the amount of bite you want.
Salt to taste
3 tbsp olive oil
To garnish, reserved leaves from fennel bulb and chopped parsley
Method
Dice the mutton into 2" cubes. In a zip lock bag or container, add 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp of the spice blend and mutton. Mix and rub well so the mutton is well-coated. If needed, add a dash more of the spice blend. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
In a large, deep pot, heat half the oil on medium-high heat. Add the lamb, browning on all sides - about 4 to 5 minutes. I did this in 2 batches so the lamb did not get crowded and sweat in the pot. Remove to a plate and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the pot, followed by the onions. Saute for 2 minutes and then add the garlic, carrots and celery. I crush some of the garlic and leave some whole. Saute for about 4 minutes or until the onions soften and turn opaque and lightish brown. Add the remaining spice blend and saute for a minute. Add the wine and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half - about 6 minutes. Now add the stock and simmer until you about a cup and a little extra of liquid - about 15 minutes.
While the stock is simmering, pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C. In another smaller frying pan, heat 1/2 tsp of olive oil. When hot, place fennel wedges cut side down and sear on medium-high for a minute. Turn over and sear top as well - the wedges should be slightly charred. Keep aside.
When the liquid in the pot has reduced, add the cloves, bay leaf, star anise and chilli powder or chill flakes. Since I don't have a roasting pan, I transferred the mutton-veg-stock mix to a borosil glass baking dish. Otherwise, if you are using oven-proof cookware, skip the transfer step. Arrange the veggies at the bottom and pile the mutton on top - this is an important step to ensure the mutton is braised and not stewed. Place the seared fennel wedges in 4 corners of the baking dish. Check and adjust seasoning. Cover tightly with foil - I used 2 layers since my dish does not have a lid. Cook in the oven until lamb is tender, about 140 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure the liquid has not dried out - just add a little stock if it has.
Ladle into 2 bowls/soup plates. Garnish with the chopped fennel leaves and parsley. Serve plain or with crusty bread.
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