Quzi Lamb

Black-lime lamb braised on the stove and finished in a covered oven pot.

Preparation: 15 min · Cooking: 2 hr 15 min · Total: 2 hr 30 min · 2 servings

Ingredients

• 600 g Raw bone-in lamb shanks OR ribs; use one cut per batch
• Small onion, sliced — 0.5
• Cinnamon stick — 1
• Whole cardamom pods — 2
• Whole dried black lime, pierced — 1
• 0.5 tsp Ground allspice
• 480 ml Initial hot braising water
• 1 tbsp Ghee
• Salt, to taste
• Additional boiling water ONLY if needed; measure additions (optional)

Instructions

1. Choose an oven-safe pot and fitted lid, including handles rated for 190°C.

   Choose an oven-safe pot and fitted lid, including handles rated for 190°C. Keep raw lamb separate from serving tools.

2. Melt the 1 tbsp base ghee over medium-high heat.

   Melt the 1 tbsp base ghee over medium-high heat. Sear lamb from about 7 minutes, turning until browned without scorching.

   First check: 420 seconds

3. Add onion, cinnamon, cardamom pods, pierced lime and ground allspice to the pot.

   Add onion, cinnamon, cardamom pods, pierced lime and ground allspice to the pot. Keep the same selected lamb cut throughout.

4. Pour in the initial 480 ml hot water carefully.

   Pour in the initial 480 ml hot water carefully. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

5. Skim off surface foam.

   Skim off surface foam. Cover with the normal fitted lid and reduce to a gentle simmer.

6. Simmer from about 90 minutes until the lamb begins to soften.

   Simmer from about 90 minutes until the lamb begins to soften. Maintain liquid with measured boiling-water additions only if needed.

   First check: 5400 seconds

7. Preheat the conventional oven to 190°C.

   Preheat the conventional oven to 190°C. Stir salt to taste into the braising liquid.

8. Transfer the covered pot safely to the oven.

   Transfer the covered pot safely to the oven. Braise from about 30 minutes until the meat is tender, around 90°C as a texture target away from bone.

   First check: 1800 seconds

9. Uncover for the final approximately 8 minutes only if browning is needed.

   Uncover for the final approximately 8 minutes only if browning is needed. Watch closely and prevent the liquid from drying or the surface burning.

10. Remove hard whole spices and the lime before serving.

    Remove hard whole spices and the lime before serving. This is the lamb-only Quzi; rice, nuts and raisins are not formula ingredients.

Tips

• Cup = 240 ml; tbsp = 15 ml; tsp = 5 ml. Ingredients scale exactly; instruction amounts describe the base 2 servings. Use the same method at half and fourfold scale, with suitable vessels and manageable batches. Times are first checks, not doneness guarantees.

Common mistakes

• Do not restore old scaffold ingredients or treat conditional additions and recovered broth as extra fixed consumed yield. Keep raw foods separate from ready-to-eat ingredients.

Substitutions

• Only stated alternatives are included. Check product ingredients and allergens; use pasteurized dairy.

Storage

Cool promptly in shallow portions, ideally refrigerating within 1 hour at 4°C or colder. Use within 2 days. This selected household limit is not a validated shelf-life study.

Reheating

Reheat only the portion needed, at most once, to 74°C throughout. Rice must have been chilled promptly and used within 24 hours; reheating does not rescue mishandled food.

About this recipe

Quzi Lamb is presented as the owner's Iraqi household version. Historical exclusivity, ancient origins and health benefits are not independently authenticated.

Editorial approval does not establish independent kitchen testing. Check allergens and follow safe food handling.