Lamb curry

 

This Indian dish is very easy to make. 

Ingredients for lamb curry

1.5kg lamb shoulder, boned weight, cut into cubes

2 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil

4 tbsp medium Indian curry paste

generous knob of butter

2 onions, thinly sliced

1 cinnamon stick

6 cardamom pods

400g chopped plum tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato purée

300ml/½ pint lamb or chicken stock

400g/14oz can chickpeas, drained

125g/4½oz baby leaf spinach, well washed

How to Cook lamb curry

• Place the diced lamb shoulder into a bowl or food bag. Mix in three tablespoons of curry paste and leave to marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to 24 hours in the fridge.
• Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy based pan, then add the onions, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and the remaining tablespoon of curry paste. Fry over a medium heat for 10 minutes, until the onions are softened and starting to turn golden-brown.
• Add the marinated lamb, and fry for a couple of minutes until the meat has changed colour - it doesn’t have to be browned.
• Stir in the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée and enough stock to cover most of the lamb, with the top pieces just poking clear of the liquid.
• Add the chickpeas and bring the mixture up to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer, and cook gently for 1 – 1½ hours, until the lamb is very tender and the sauce is rich and thick.
• Spoon away the excess fat that will have gathered on the top of the curry, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
• Add the spinach, stirring the spinach leaves into the curry until they wilt.
• Serve the curry with your favorite rice, breads and chutneys.