Ingredients
- 2 tbs lemon juice
- 100g fresh coriander leaves roughly chopped (this is the weight you want after you have cut off any large stalks)
- 1 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
- 4 large cloves of garlic, chopped
- 3-4 hot green chilis (like bird’s-eye), roughly choppes
- 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 600g boneless lamb preferably from the shoulder cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 120ml coconut milk from a well-shaken can
Add this to your blender in order: lemon juice, 120ml water, the coriander, ginger, garlic, chilies, turmeric, and salt. Blend into a smooth paste, scraping down the sides if you need.
Preheat your oven to 160C.
Pour oil into an ovenproof pan (with a cover that fits) and set over medium-high heat. When oil’s hot, add the fennel seeds and TWO SECONDS LATER add the onions. Stir and fry intil they brown at the edges. Don't skimp on this.
When the onion’s browning on the edges, add the meat and turn up the heat to high. Stir and fry until meat’s lightly browned, then add your green paste and bring to a simmer.
Cover and place in the oven for at least an hour, but possibly 75 minutes until your meat is tender. When the meat’s done, add the coconut milk and gently reheat just before serving.
Method
I love curry, which is a bit like saying "I love India" because there are of course many different sides to and types of curry just as there are of the country itself. So lets be more precise - I don't think i have ever tasted a curry that I didn't like - although to be even more precise - other than those ones which are obnoxiously over-hot just to prove some kind of point.
There are as many different flavours and kinds of curry as there are any other world food. And it is really worth spending time getting to know the regional variations and flavours. I am just a beginner, but love it from the mst flavourful vegetarian food through warmly spiced and comforting meat based dishes.
My main problem is that growing up (from a cooking perspective) in the 80s, the only real source of recipes for Indian cooking was Madhur Jaffrey, and her book "Indian Cookery" published in 1982 was for years the only book on Indian cooking I had. Now don't get me wrong, I adore her and her food but the average recipe in this book is daunting to say the least - with lists of ingredients running to 20 or 30 separate items! And prep which made Chinese food look simple. That made cooking her recipes something which we did only on odd occasions or when you had lots of people coming because one of the great features of Indian cuisine by and large is that it improves with being held, so you can prepare ahead and actually have better tasting food as a result.
Incidentally the black eye beans recipe in that book is well worth cooking!
In the new century though there has been a renewed interest in the UK in cooking Indian food at home and new authors have appeared who have rationalised a lot of the recipes to include fewer ingredients and less oil as well to fit in with more health conscious times. This has made Indian food a lot more accessible for day-to-day meals.
Luckily Madhur Jaffrey has also taken this approach and her book "Curry Easy" published in 2010 is a great starter place. There may be less depth and subtlety in some of the dishes for the constrained spice pallet, but this is more than compensated by the food being far more pracrical and accessible for people.
Incidentally, on spices everyone advises (and same here) to buy whole spice and then only grind it when you need it. Whole spice stays good for ages (I would say years although purists will frown) and you lose none of the pungency doing it this way - whereas pre-ground powders go stale very quickly and you lose so much flavour unless you are using huge volume - which I would guess you aren't. This is especially true for Cumin, coriander and pepper the most common trinity in Indian cooking. And buy from an Indian supermarket if you have one locally - so much cheaper and fresher.
The quantity below of for 4 people, It easily doubles as I did on Saturday. It is truly delicious and different, don't be put off by the photo which does not do it justice.