Dimlama

Ingredients

Meat

• 800 glamb or beef, in large pieces with some fat
• 2 tbspoil

Layers

• 4onions, thickly sliced
• 4carrots, in thick rounds
• 6potatoes, halved
• 2peppers, in wedges
• 4tomatoes, halved
• 1 headgarlic
• 200 ggreen beans
• ½cabbage, in wedges

Seasoning

• 2 tspground cumin
• 2 tspground coriander
• 1 tspblack pepper
• salt
• a bunch of dill and coriander

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a heavy pot and brown the meat briefly, or skip the browning altogether, which plenty of cooks do.
2. Now layer everything in and do not stir again at any point: onions first, then the meat, then carrots, then potatoes, then the peppers and tomatoes, with the whole head of garlic pushed down into the middle.
3. Season each layer as you build it, because there will be no opportunity to correct it afterwards.
4. Lay the cabbage wedges over the top as a lid. They release water downwards and hold the steam in, and they are doing structural work rather than simply being another vegetable.
5. Add no water at all. Every drop of liquid comes from the vegetables themselves, and the name means steamed under a lid precisely because of this.
6. Cover the pot tightly, sealing the rim with a damp cloth or a strip of dough if the lid does not fit closely.
7. Cook on the lowest heat for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours without lifting the lid once.
8. Every time you look you lose the steam that is doing the cooking, and there is no water in there to make it up.
9. Open it, scatter in a great deal of chopped dill and coriander, and put the lid back on for 5 minutes.
10. Serve straight from the pot, spooning down through the layers so that every plate gets some of everything, with the broth from the bottom ladled over.

Technique

• The order of the layers is not arbitrary. What cooks slowest goes lowest, and the cabbage on top is the seal.
• It is forgiving about which vegetables go in and unforgiving about the lid.
• Fatty meat is better here than lean. The rendered fat is a large part of what the vegetables cook in.

Substitutions

• Beef or goat in place of lamb, given an extra half hour.
• Quince or apple layered in, which is done in autumn.

Variations

• Made vegetarian, with more vegetables and a little oil for richness.
• With chickpeas soaked and added among the layers.
• Cooked in a kazan over a fire, which is the original setting.

History

Layered meat and vegetable stew steamed slowly in a covered pot.

Frequently asked questions

What is Dimlama?

Dimlama is a main from Kyrgyzstan: meat and vegetables steamed under a sealed lid. Layered meat and vegetable stew steamed slowly in a covered pot.

How long does Dimlama take to make?

Dimlama takes 25 min of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Dimlama?

Yes, within limits. Beef or goat in place of lamb, given an extra half hour. Quince or apple layered in, which is done in autumn.

What is the most important thing to get right in Dimlama?

Now layer everything in and do not stir again at any point: onions first, then the meat, then carrots, then potatoes, then the peppers and tomatoes, with the whole head of garlic pushed down into the middle.