Tibetan Meatball Curry (Shabril)

Lamb

Tibetan Meatball Curry (Shabril)
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground lamb
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 Tablespoon crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
salt to taste
1 Tablespoon mushroom soy sauce
2 cups finely sliced mushrooms
1 cup finely sliced radishes
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
Preparation:
1. Roll the ground lamb into half-inch balls.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and stir in the fenugreek seeds, cooking until they turn dark brown. Stir in the onions and cook until golden brown, then lower the heat to medium and gently stir in the lamb, then the ginger, garlic, turmeric, salt, and soy sauce. Add a little water, if necessary.
3. Cover and reduce the heat, and simmer for five minutes. Then uncover and stir in the mushrooms and radishes, and cook for fifteen minutes or until tender. Then, remove the pan from the heat and gently stir in the sour cream; and next sprinkle with green onions.
Note: This dish is traditionally served with saffron rice and baistsaa which is a spicy cabbage. It is also, traditionally, thickened with milk of staggering fat content that comes from a crossbreed of yak and cow. Sour cream is a good and convenient substitute. Regarded as a festive dish, shabril is a unique Tibetan delicacy reserved for honored guests and on special occasions. Although a wide variety of mushrooms grow in Tibet, commercially raised white mushrooms, crimini, or shiitake mushrooms are all perfectly suitable.

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