Lamb Stew with Spices

1 leg of lamb
1/4 cup hazelnuts; ground
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Cinnamon; ground
1/4 teaspoon chinese five spice powder; ground
12 cardamom pods; hulled
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 large onion; chopped
2 tablespoon ginger; minced
5 garlic cloves; peeled, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon paprika, mild
1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper; ground
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 large can Italian plum tomatoes
4 medium yukon gold potatoes; peeled, cubed
1 cup water
2 cup unflavored yogurt
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 cup fresh peas, or frozen, thawed
fresh chives or green onion tops; chopped
This works well with a leg of lamb but you can use other cuts as well.

Clean meat very well removing fat, bones, silver skin and gristle. (Save the bones and trimmings for stock.) Cut meat into two inch chunks.

In a large fry pan, add oil, cinnamon, five spice powder, cardamom seeds and cumin seeds. (If you can't find five spice powder, you can use a dash of ground cloves.) Cook over medium heat for one minute, stirring - don't let the spices burn. Add chopped onions, ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add ground coriander, paprika and chipotle pepper. (You can substitute cayenne for the chipotle but it doesn't have the nice smokey flavor of chipotle.) Stir for a minute, turn the heat up and add the lamb. Cook, stirring, until the lamb is no longer red. But you are not trying to brown the lamb.

Add canned tomatoes with juice and potatoes. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add water, yougurt and ground hazelnuts. (Ground almonds or cashews could be used instead of hazelnuts.) Stir very well.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is tender. This could take as few as 30 minutes and as long as 2 hours. If this is to be served the next day, stop cooking as soon as the meat is tender, cover, and refrigerate. Warm the stew up over medium heat and continue the next day.

Add cream and peas. The stew should be thick. If it is too thick, thin with a little water. If it is too thin, simmer until it has thickened. Serve stew garnished with chopped chives or green onion tops.

Yield: 4 servings