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Caribbean pumpkin stuffed with lamb biryani
As a nomad who travelled through 3 continents and finally settling down in Toronto and falling in love with a Bajan woman, this dish is a tribute to her and a celebration of my Somali and her Barbadian heritage. Indian aromatic spiced basmati rice mixed with a bright green Caribbean seasoned lamb, all baked in a Caribbean pumpkin.
Ingredients
Rice:
- 4 cups long grain basmati rice
- 4 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or sunflower oil)
- 4 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) optional
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 6 whole cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 6 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
Lamb:
- 2 pounds lamb shoulder deboned and cubed (2 inches)
- 1-1/2 cups vinegar
- 2 ounces thyme
- 2 ounces parsley
- 1 pound onions
- 5 ounces green onions
- 2 ounces marjoram
- 4 Scotch Bonnet peppers or habanero (add more to make it hotter)
- 4 ounces garlic
- 1/2 ounce ground clove
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4-1/2 tablespoon salt
- 6 cups of vegetarian stock
Pumpkin:
- 8 to 10 pounds Caribbean pumpkin (substitute with Kobucha or Musqee de Provence pumpkin)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon allspice
- 1 tablespoon nutmeg
- 1/2 bunch chopped fresh thyme
Directions
Rice:
- Heat the oil and ghee in a pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, and salt. Sauté the onions until soft. Add cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns, cumin, and raisins. Sauté until fragrant.
- Add rice and mix it ensuring the rice absorbs all the spices and gets toasted in the oil. Add vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until rice is absorbed.
- Fluff with a fork.
- Allow it to cool before mixing it the seasoned lamb.
Lamb seasoning:
- Remove the stems from the thyme and marjoram and place in a blender with vinegar and blend.
- Place the onions, green onions, parsley, peppers and garlic in a food processor and process for 30 seconds to one minute.
- Blend this together with the seasoned vinegar in a mixing bowl.
- Add ground clove and black pepper.
- Add and mix deboned and cubed lamb shoulder into seasoning.
- Season lamb overnight.
Lamb:
- Add six cups of veg stock (or water with one onion, carrot, celery and bay leaf) in a pot and rest it on a steamer lined with parchment paper and spread the seasoned lamb. Cover it and steam in low heat for approximately 45 minutes.
- Allow the meat to cool, check for seasonings and fold with the rice.
Pumpkin:
- Carve the top of the pumpkin evenly and neatly, remove the seeds and rub the inside of the pumpkin with all ingredients and roast in a 300 degrees oven for 40 minutes. The goal is to soften the pumpkin without giving to much colour.
Assembly:
- Keep rice and lamb mix out of the fridge at room temperature for at least for one hour.
- Preheat the oven at 375 degrees.
- One hour prior to dinner, assemble the dish by adding the mixed rice and lamb in the pumpkin and cover the top and bake for 45 minutes.
