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  In my previous post , I wrote about my first time dining at a Lebanese (or Middle-eastern) restaurant, Al Aseel . I had ordered the "Mixed Plate", comprising an array of dips and a three types of grilled meats on skewers - chicken, lamb and kafta. I wasn't a fan of the chicken as I found it a little dry. The lamb was not bad, but my favourite was the kafta.   Kofta  generally refers to savoury balls of ground meat (or vegetables, potatoes, lentils etc) mixed with spices, herbs or other ingredients. In Lebanese cuisine, it's called kafta and is usually made with ground beef, allspice, parsley and onions. I decided to make a lamb kofta kebab instead by placing the lamb mince on skewers and then grilling them on the barbecue. You can use either beef, lamb or a combination of both. You may serve this with some Lebanese bread (or any flatbread), hummus and tahini sauce with tabouli as a salad.  I also made some beef kebabs which...

      The first time I had lamb shanks was at Mulligan's, an Irish restaurant in Sydney. I remember how tender the meat was and it just melted in the mouth, together with the luscious red wine gravy and mashed potatoes. Well, that was a really really long time ago, and since then, I had always wanted to cook lamb shanks but never did until now, after I bought a french oven that's large enough to fit those shanks. I decided to make a Thai version by braising the lamb in massamum curry with some potatoes. I had it in the oven long enough that the meat was so tender and just fell off the bone. It was delicious, and with all curries, it tastes even better the next day! Massamun Curry Lamb Shanks   Ingredients   6 lamb shanks (about 2kg or 4lbs) Salt 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 star anise 1 cinnamon stick 6 cardamom pods, lightly crushed 110g (4oz) massaman curry paste 2 cups coconut cream 2 cups reduced-salt beef st...