We had a ball today in the BUX kitchen. Everybody was guessing what the chef was preparing for lunch. One said “chicken”, the other figured “kebab”. I heard many suggestions, but none of them were right. aha!

This Lamb curry came for some as a surprise, but it was delicious. We did serve the dish with naan bread and cucumber soaked in apple vinegar with honey.

-enjoy-

Ingredients (serves 6)

olive oil
300 g diced lean lamb shoulder
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
5 cm piece of ginger
4 cloves of garlic
3 onions
10 curry leaves
2 x 400 g tins of chickpeas
1 organic vegetable stock cube
1 x 400 g tin of quality plum tomatoes
½ x 400 g tin of light coconut milk
200 g baby spinach
1 bunch of fresh coriander

Method

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the lamb, spices and curry powder, then cook gently for 15 minutes, or until browned all over, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the ginger, garlic and onions. Add the sliced ingredients and curry leaves to the pan, then cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.
Tip in the chickpeas (and their juice), then crumble in the stock cube. Pour in the tomatoes and 1 tin’s worth of hot water.
Season lightly with sea salt and black pepper, then slowly bring to the boil, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon.
Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the lamb is tender and the sauce has thickened and reduced, occasionally stirring and scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add the coconut milk and spinach to the pan, stir well, then bring just back to the boil.
Have a taste and season to perfection, then tear the coriander leaves over the top. Delicious served with brown basmati rice.