Tabak Maaz: Indian Style Lamb Ribs (or Goat)
Tabak maaz is a traditional lamb or goat rib recipe of Kashmiri cuisine, and one of the most famous dishes in the Wazwan feast, a decadent meal featuring not one or two, or even five courses of lamb, goat, and other meats, but 36! The celebratory feast is seen as an art form, and chefs take a special pride in preparing the dishes.
Tabak Maaz Ingredients
The secret to the recipe is that the riblets are soaked overnight in a spiced tumeric milk, then simmered until tender and browned in ghee until crisp. They’re perfumed with spices and make a great appetizer browned crisp and delicious in ghee.
This recipe has some exotic spices. Black cardamom can be found at your local Asian grocery store in the spice section, or purchased online. Unlike green cardamom, which has a rich, floral taste and aroma, black cardamom is rich, dark and smoky.
Lamb and goat ribs are very rich. Some people may like them served as-is, but Chef Bergo recommends giving them a light trim to remove some of the fat. See our post on how to cook lamb or goat ribs for a demonstration of how Chef trims his ribs.
This recipe is by James Beard Award-winning Chef Alan Bergo. He’s a chef from Minnesota and author of The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora. Learn more about Chef Alan at foragerchef.com.
Looking for grass-fed lamb and goat online? Shepherd Song Farm: Grass to table. We raise lambs & goats traditionally, humanely and sustainably. 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Never Confined, no Hormones, Grains or Animal Byproducts. Born, raised and processed in the U.S.A. Good for you and good for the environment.
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Tabak Maaz: Indian Style Lamb Ribs (or Goat)
Equipment
- 1 large soup pot for braising the ribs
- 1 10 inch cast iron pan for browning the ribs
Ingredients
Ribs and tumeric milk
- 3 lbs lamb or goat ribs
- 4 qts water
- 1 qt whole milk
- 30 grams 8 large cloves fresh garlic
- 30 grams or 2 each 1in x 3 inch rectangles fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 small onion halved
- 2 Tablespoons ground turmeric
- Tiny pinch saffron optional
- 6 dried bay leaves
- 75 grams 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
Spice Blend
- 3 3 inch cinnamon sticks
- 20 grams whole black cardamom roughly 6 medium-sized pods
- 10 whole green cardamom
- 2 tablespoons fennel seed
- 2 tablespoons cumin seed
- 2 Tablespoons black peppercorns
Serving and finishing
- ¼ cup ghee
- Fresh cilantro
- Finishing salt optional
Instructions
Spices
- Lightly toast the toast the ingredients for the spice blend, then roughly crush in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Combine the spices, onion, garlic, ginger, bay leaves and salt with the water in a soup pot, bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and cool.
Marinating the ribs
- Add the ribs and milk to the liquid and refrigerate overnight (optional). Add a little extra water to barely cover the ribs if needed.
- Bring the ribs to a simmer, turn the heat to low, and cook for an hour on the lowest heat possible. Do not allow the ribs to boil or they could fall apart.
- Test to see if the ribs are done by wiggling a bone-it should move freely, but they should not be falling apart. Allow the ribs to cool in the liquid for 45 minutes.
- Remove the ribs and pat dry. From here the ribs can be prepared days ahead of time.
Browning and serving
- Brown the ribs crisp in the ghee on both sides and serve the hot garnished with cilantro and finishing salt.
Notes
Nutrition