Lamb in Yogurt /Yoğurtlu Kuzu Eti

Here is another simple  but delicious supper dish  that I made the other night.

lamb in yogurt/yoğurtlu kuzu eti

The ingredients are not fancy:  kuşbaşı lamb with chopped onion and  tomatoes but it’s the flavouring that makes it: thyme, cinnamon and black pepper.  How do you like that combination?  I was also attracted by the idea of the yogurt topping since the yogurt here is quite simply the best in the world! I especially mean Tikveşli which is an absolute staple in our fridge. Any meal with that in it is a winner as far as I am concerned.

ready for the oven

It is the kind of meal that improves with time ie it can sit very happily in the fridge for  a couple of days and the taste gets  better and the meat somehow becomes  even more tender.

Here is the recipe for Lamb in Yogurt/Yoğurtlu Kuzu Eti

(from Filiz Zorlu's Bizim Evde Pişenler)

Serves 6

1 kg cubed lamb/kuşbaşı kuzu eti

1 onion, chopped

3 ripe tomatoes,skinned and chopped ( I used a jar of my bottled summer tomatoes)

2 cups plain yogurt

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp seasoned salt/ tuzot

here's what Turkish seasoned salt/tuzot looks like

1 tsp thyme (I used dried)/ kekik

¼ tsp cinnamon/ tarçin

¼ tsp black pepper

A little oil for sautéing

Method

·         Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/400°F.

·         Sauté the meat and the onion together in the oil for 10 mins over medium heat.

·         Add the chopped tomatoes, seasoned salt, cinnamon and black pepper and cook until the liquid from the meat has been absorbed.

the tomatoes really are that vivid colour!

·         Sprinkle the mixture with the thyme and place in an ovenprooof baking dish. Mix the yogurt and flour together and pour over the meat mixture.

all set minus the topping

mixing the flour and yogurt

·         Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 mins.

serve with rice and a green salad

                                                                      

Afiyet olsun!

Tips

1.       The success of this dish depends on your meat being really tender so check with your butcher! Also taste a bit at the end of the cooking before putting in the ovenproof dish. If the meat is still not as tender as you would like, cook further, adding a little water if necessary.

2.       My bottled tomatoes are coming in really useful now that we are back to the hard, tasteless variety.  The smell and taste of those summer Çanakkale tomatoes gives me immense satisfaction as well as reminding me of Assos.  All that chopping was definitely worth it! I am happy to report that the sterilizing process was 100% successful this time: the jars open with a satisfying pop every time!