Cycle 4 – Item 167

21 (Fri) June 2013

Lamb Chops in Eggplant-Masala Sauce

3.5

by me

at home

-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with the Family, Nanny 8

An impromptu dish that turned out quite well.  I diced a couple of eggplants, along with some onion, and sautéed them in ghee, and added garam masala and various seasonings, and simmered everything in chicken stock for awhile, and then blitzed it all into a smooth consistency.  The gaminess of the lamb, the bittersweetness of the eggplant, accentuated by the spices, softened/mellowed by the ghee and the onion: good, good stuff.  Most of the spices were Pakistani in origin, hence the attribution.

The occasion – lamb chops in Korea being so expensive, only a special occasion justifies the extravagance (on my salary) – was Nanny 8’s final day.  Well, sort of.  She’ll be taking a month off, after which we’ll discuss whether to continue the relationship.  As Nanny 8 loves lamb, I made lamb, just to show no hard feelings on our part.

A few days ago, I had lamb chops at a South African restaurant (see 4.162 Lamb Chops); tonight, by sheer coincidence, I had lamb chops at home with South African wine, which I hadn’t even realized was South African at the time of purchase (from Costco) (it was cheap and within reach).

(See also BOOZE)

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)