Milk-cooked and deep-fried: This is ribs, Kashmiri-style

Milk. Yoghurt. Ghee. Chickpea flour. Spices. How much intensity can one lamb rib take?

It’s normally when I get to the deep-frying in ghee that I close my eyes. Kabargah, Kashmiri lamb ribs, isn’t a dish for the faint-hearted or those watching what they eat and that's the beauty of this recipe.

Kabargah is an unapologetically rich food.

This recipe sees lamb ribs slow-cooked in milk and spices until caramelised. It is then dipped in spiced yoghurt and besan flour before hitting the hot kadai filled with ghee. Let me put it this way - I add vegetable oil to the ghee just to make myself feel better about frying in it.

The reward for all of this process is a soft mouthful of spice that is deeply textured, savoury and speaks directly to Kashmir’s wildly mountainous geography. This is the food you would want to eat if snow-draped mountains were the view from your stovetop. 

Kabargah was served at my brother’s New Delhi wedding - the kind of stupendously luxurious finger food that one might expect at an Indian shaadi. It also speaks directly to the unique cultural landscape of Kashmiri Pandit cuisine. 

Across India, it’s common for Brahmanic groups to follow a strict vegetarian diet. But Kashmir’s ancient links to Persia, and the close historical relationship between Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Hindus, means that Pandit tradition in this region embraces animal protein. 

I love how traditional cuisine tells a story of social connection and cultural history. And how recipes can be a bridge of understanding and connection. Kabargah is representative of all of that. 

As long as you can reconcile deep frying in ghee, it’s probably going to be the best lamb rib dish you’ll ever eat and I'm so glad to be able to share this one.

 

Love this story? You can follow the author via Instagram @sarina_kamini. Photography, styling and food preparation by Sarina Kamini.

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Spiced Kashmiri lamb ribs (kabargah)

Serves 4

Kabargah is an unashamed step into full-tilt, full-fat, full-on Kashmiri flavour. This is a party dish, commonly served at weddings and religious celebrations like Diwali. For a slightly leaner version, you can use lamb cutlets in place of lamb ribs.

Ingredients

• 1 kg lamb ribs
• 500 ml milk
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• 3 large bay leaf
• 1 tsp aniseed
• 2 tsp ground fennel
• 3 tsp cumin seed
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 6 clove buds
• 6 black cardamom
• 1 tsp ground red hot chilli
• 2 tbsp cold water
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 2 cups besan flour
• 1 cup yoghurt
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying
• 1 cup ghee for frying
• Gold leaf, to decorate

Method

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, place the lamb ribs and the milk and put to high heat on the stovetop until the milk comes to a boil, around 10 minutes depending on the intensity of your stovetop. Once the milk is boiling, turn down to low-medium heat until it is simmering gently. Cook down until the milk is halfway evaporated, around 30 to 45 minutes.
2. Dilute the hot ground red chilli in two tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Once the milk has evaporated to half, put 2 tsp white salt, bay leaf, aniseed, ground ginger, clove buds, black cardamom, asafoetida and diluted chilli into the pot. Stir through. 
3. Keep the pot on low heat and continue cooking until all the milk and lamb fat splits, the liquid is absorbed, and the ribs are caramelised. It is important to stir through this process once the liquid gets low to prevent the dish from sticking and burning. This process will take around 45 minutes.
4. Once cooked down, remove the pot from the heat.
5. In a mixing bowl, place the yoghurt, 1 tsp salt and Kashmiri chilli and stir through. With a whisk, whisk through cold water in small amounts until the yoghurt has the consistency of a thin pancake batter.
6. On a flat plate, tip the two cups of besan flour for breading the lamb ribs.
7. Once the lamb ribs have cooled, dip each rib individually in the yoghurt mix, then bread with the besan flour and set onto a separate clean plate. 
8. In a deep cast iron wok, heavy-bottomed pot or deep fry, heat the vegetable oil and ghee on high heat until very hot. Fry the flour and yoghurt coated ribs in small batches for 15 to 20 seconds each, only until the besan flour has browned.
9. Drain on a paper towel. Apply gold leaf as an optional festive touch to the finished ribs. Serve as part of a festive meal with pulao, cooling raita and a piquant pickle.

Note

• Besan flour is chickpea flour and can be sourced from health food stores, supermarkets and Indian grocers.