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(575 words + ingredients)
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And now for something completely different ….
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Welcome back to my blog, and this week to one of my favourite recipes. The word ‘curry’ was adopted and anglicized from the Tamil word kari, meaning ‘sauce’ and the first recipe in English for an Indian-style curry is reputed to have appeared in the 1774 edition of Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.
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This is a delicious, easy-to-make version, ‘of my own devising,’ using both minced and whole lamb!
Start by slicing a couple of onions and fry for five to ten minutes, then add chopped, crushed garlic to taste, and fry for a further five minutes. I like to use about six cloves. Someone told me I could use chopped onion from a jar and garlic paste, but watering eyes and stinky hands are part of cooking for me, and I just love the smell of them frying! I like to use virgin olive oil, but you can use any oil or ghee.
Then brown 250g of minced lamb and about the same amount of chopped lamb. Add a WHOLE jar of Patak’s Madras curry paste (283g), two tins of plum tomatoes (breaking the tomatoes up a bit) and a squirt of tomato paste. I’ll also add a stock cube or two here, lamb if I can get it, otherwise beef. Add about a tinful of water, the onions and garlic and put the meat to simmer for 45 minutes.
I like to add additional spices, as there is a lot of meat and vegetables to flavour, so I’ll put a heaped teaspoonful or two of whatever takes my fancy onto a saucer – ground cumin, paprika, coriander etc. and about four to six heaped teaspoonfuls of hot chilli powder – to create a spicy mix.
Fry the spices in oil for a few minutes, then add to the meat and stir well. Add in a few bay leaves and some cardamom pods, bearing in mind that not everyone likes spitting out the inedible pods!
There’s nothing I like more in a curry than juicy cauliflower, so chop half to three quarters of a medium cauli into small florets and add to the mix once the 45 minutes are up. Then peel and chop three medium carrots and add. Finally, peel two to three medium spuds, chop and add. I’ve found by doing the veggies in this order they will be equally cooked. By this stage there is a lot of food so I divide it into two pans. I don’t usually find it necessary to add more water (and it can always be added after cooking) but you can add a little more as required.
Let the curry simmer for a further 30-45 minutes, adding four medium chopped tomatoes after 15 minutes. Then test to see if the cauliflower is tender but still al dente, and that the other vegetables are also cooked. Towards the end of the cooking throw in a couple of handfuls of frozen peas. Finally, check the spiciness and add a teaspoonful or two of crushed chillis to [lip-numbing] taste!
That’s it. Serve with basmati rice, chopped fresh coriander, yoghurt, diced fresh tomato and cucumber, lime pickle, mango chutney, or whatever takes your fancy. And for those with hollow legs, or if you’ve a horde to feed, add a selection of poppadoms, naan breads, puris, and chapatis. Serves eight to ten and freezes beautifully. Enjoy!
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Ingredients
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2 onions
1-6 garlic cloves
250g minced lamb
250g diced lamb
2 tins plum tomatoes
I tbsp tomato puree
I jar (283g) Patak’s Madras curry paste
1-2 stock cubes, lamb or beef
1-6 bay leaves
1 medium cauliflower
3 medium carrots
2-3 medium potatoes
4 medium tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
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optional
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1-2 tsp ground cumin
1-2 tsp ground paprika
1-2 tsp ground coriander
1-4 tsp hot chilli powder
1-2 tsp crushed chilli
6-12 cardomom pods
fresh coriander leaves (garnish)
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(I use heaped teaspoonfuls)
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Note: this article was originally published on 26th Mar 2018 (as a page, not a post) on Community Pool. Here is a link to the original [slightly shorter] article (with comments):
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And to where it originally appeared (with comments):
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I recently made this for the first time in several months. I couldn’t remember exactly how I’d made it before so had to resort to this article! I made it almost exactly according to the above recipe and it came out beautifully. Spicy and delcious, and the meat was very tender. Just loved the cauli too. 🙂 I found it needed 45 minutes once I’d added the veggies, and they all came out perfectly al dente. That’s something that obviously can vary. I was also quite generous with the ‘additional spices’!
Love your stories. https://findingfrenchcharming.com/2018/03/31/sunshine-blogger-award/
Hi thank you so much, and thanks for nominating me. I might even get round to it! 🙂
No pressure. Just wanted you to know that I appreciate your work.