Kuzu Pirzola Kapama (Baked Lamb Chops & Rice)

Kuzu Pirzola Kapama. I wanted to write a long caption for this one but my head wasn’t in it. So l’ve written up the recipe instead (on my blog), link in bio. Succulent juicy chops, equally juicy rice, spices, onions, garlic, toms, peppers, and a super simple method to bring all the flavours together. If you’ve made my tavuk kapama recipe, then I reckon you’re going to LOVE this one too ❤️ 

Ingredients:

1 chicken stock cube 

700ml boiling water 

250g easy cook rice 

3 tbsp kefir (preferable) or runny, natural yoghurt 

2 tablespoon Turkish sweet red pepper paste or tomato puree

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber) 

1 teaspoon smoked paprika 

1 teaspoon dried oregano 

1/2 tsp dried mint

2 tsp ground cumin 

1kg (approx 8) thick lamb chops or cutlets 

1 teaspoon sea salt flakes

1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper 

2 onions, peeled and quartered

6 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed

3 Bay leaves 

2 tomatoes, halved and thickly sliced

4 green Charleston peppers or 1 green bell pepper thickly sliced 

Finely chopped fresh parsley to serve 

Method:

In a large dish (big enough to accommodate all of the lamb), mix together the yogurt, red pepper paste / tomato purée, olive oil, pul biber, smoked paprika, oregano, mint and cumin and leave to one side. Add the lamb to the dish and coat then fully in the marinade, using your hands to really endure the marinade gets into the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 4.

Take the chops out of the fridge 30 minutes before you are ready to cook them. When you are ready to cook them, do not wash the dish they are in. Preheat your oven to 210C Fan / 230C conventional.

Wash the rice under cold running water until the water runs clear, then leave to one side to drain.

Dissolve the stock cube in the 700ml of boiling water.

Brush a large non-stick frying pan with a little olive oil and place on a medium to high heat. Sear the chops in batches until they are browned all over, seasoning with the sea salt as you do (reserve some salt for later) ensuring to render the fat by searing all the sides and edges of each piece of lamb too. Once all the lamb has been seared remove to a clean plate and sprinkle each piece with half of the black pepper. Add the garlic and onions to the dish you used to marinade the lamb in, coating them in any leftover marinade, and sear them in the same pan for a couple of minutes until browned and caramelised along cut sides the edges. 

Add the seared onions and garlic cloves to a large casserole dish or roasting tray. 

Add the washed and drained rice to the tray followed by the chops. Carefully pour the stock into the tray. Add in the bay leaves, and tomato slices, peppers season with the tensing salt and pepper and pop the tray back into the oven, on the middle shelf. Cook for 15 minutes, then turn the chops over and cook for another 12-15 minutes until the rice has cooked through. 

The rice should remain juicy and not dry out Remove from the oven and rest, covered, for 10 minutes or so, so that the rice can soak up the remaining juices. Sprinkle with finely chopped fresh parsley and serve.