Shamefully, I don’t know the specific curry type of this recipe. It was one I was given by a very dear friend who I used to cook with a lot and it is certainly one of the best curries I have ever tasted.
Achingly rich and deep, deep in lamb and multi-layered and complex with spicing. Not too hot; enough just to warm the palate and emphasise the delicate notes of coriander, pepper, clove, fenugreek and lots of lovely lambyness. Lamb is my favourite meat when it comes to curries – I feel that out of all the meats, lamb contributes the most to curry sauces. It kind of, breaks down, melting into the gravy and infusing it with its strong, meaty flavour.
The key to a good curry gravy or in fact to any sauce is reduction. Reduction of volume, intensifying flavours to create intense sauces, the stuff of the average gourmand’s dreams. This recipe more than accounts for this. There are 3 different stages of ‘reduction’ – the frying off of the curry paste, the baking of the curry paste and the simmering away of the lamb. Fantastic. Plus the toasting of the spices – another step intended to strengthen and release flavour. Really – you can’t go wrong with this recipe. Follow it and you’ll always be onto a winner.
Serve with rice, naan (recipe here) and raita (here).
Achingly rich and deep, deep in lamb and multi-layered and complex with spicing. Not too hot; enough just to warm the palate and emphasise the delicate notes of coriander, pepper, clove, fenugreek and lots of lovely lambyness. Lamb is my favourite meat when it comes to curries – I feel that out of all the meats, lamb contributes the most to curry sauces. It kind of, breaks down, melting into the gravy and infusing it with its strong, meaty flavour.
The key to a good curry gravy or in fact to any sauce is reduction. Reduction of volume, intensifying flavours to create intense sauces, the stuff of the average gourmand’s dreams. This recipe more than accounts for this. There are 3 different stages of ‘reduction’ – the frying off of the curry paste, the baking of the curry paste and the simmering away of the lamb. Fantastic. Plus the toasting of the spices – another step intended to strengthen and release flavour. Really – you can’t go wrong with this recipe. Follow it and you’ll always be onto a winner.
Serve with rice, naan (recipe here) and raita (here).
Recipe
Ingredients (serves 6):
2 tbsp butter
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
275ml stock or water
1.5 kg shoulder of lamb, cut into large but bitesize chunks
1 handful chopped mint or coriander
275ml natural yoghurt
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Roasted and ground spices:
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
½ tbsp fenugreek seeds
½ tbsp black peppercorns
1 clove
½ cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Curry paste:
5 cm of fresh ginger, peeled
2 red onions, peeled
10 cloves garlic, peeled
2 fresh red chillies, with seeds
1 bunch fresh coriander
Lime juice to taste
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 170°C.
2. Lightly toast all the spices in a pan over a gentle heat before pounding or crushing into a fine powder. Toasting the spices releases their flavour and makes them fragrant.
3. Chop the paste ingredients roughly, add the roasted spices and purée in a food processor.
4. In a large casserole pan, fry the curry paste mixture in the butter until it goes golden, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes and stock or water. Bring to the boil, cover with kitchen foil and place in the oven for 1 ½ hours to intensify the flavours. Remove the foil and continue to simmer on the stove until it thickens. This is the basic curry paste.
5. Fry the lamb in a little olive oil until golden, then add to the curry sauce and simmer for approximately 1 hour or until the lamb is tender.
6. To serve sprinkle with chopped coriander and mint and stir in the yoghurt. Season to taste and add a good squeeze of lime juice.
Ingredients (serves 6):
2 tbsp butter
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
275ml stock or water
1.5 kg shoulder of lamb, cut into large but bitesize chunks
1 handful chopped mint or coriander
275ml natural yoghurt
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Roasted and ground spices:
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
½ tbsp fenugreek seeds
½ tbsp black peppercorns
1 clove
½ cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Curry paste:
5 cm of fresh ginger, peeled
2 red onions, peeled
10 cloves garlic, peeled
2 fresh red chillies, with seeds
1 bunch fresh coriander
Lime juice to taste
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 170°C.
2. Lightly toast all the spices in a pan over a gentle heat before pounding or crushing into a fine powder. Toasting the spices releases their flavour and makes them fragrant.
3. Chop the paste ingredients roughly, add the roasted spices and purée in a food processor.
4. In a large casserole pan, fry the curry paste mixture in the butter until it goes golden, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes and stock or water. Bring to the boil, cover with kitchen foil and place in the oven for 1 ½ hours to intensify the flavours. Remove the foil and continue to simmer on the stove until it thickens. This is the basic curry paste.
5. Fry the lamb in a little olive oil until golden, then add to the curry sauce and simmer for approximately 1 hour or until the lamb is tender.
6. To serve sprinkle with chopped coriander and mint and stir in the yoghurt. Season to taste and add a good squeeze of lime juice.
beautiful beautiful spices
from 12 o clock, clockwise – black pepper, fennel seed, coriander seed, fenugreek, cumin seed, cardamom and clove in the middle.
toast the spices
time to grind
ground
paste ingredients
butter/ghee
fry off the paste
tomatoes in
lamb shuolder
fry it off
simmer with lamb
reduced and delicious
stick your head in this
tuck in.
