More lamb!

Tonight’s offering is my favourite (to cook anyway) lamb curry – straightforward to cook, tasty and spicy.  Given that this is the third curry (to date) on here, you’ll have gathered this is one of my favourite foods!

The longer you cook the lamb in this dish the better – slow cooked over 12 hours wouldn’t be a bad thing!  Our old favourite curry house in Cornwall had one lamb dish which you had to order 48hrs in advance so it cook marinade and then cook for the best part of a day! We even had it for Christmas dinner one year – picked up on the Eve of course :-)

Ingredients (serves 4)
For the lamb
Whole shoulder of lamb
Tandoori curry paste (enough to marinade the whole joint)
1 btsp Tandoori spice blend
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
2 tsp lemon juice

For the curry
1 large onion
Half a bulb (yes you read that right) of garlic, crushed
1 butternut squash
2 tsp curry powder (madras if you’ve got it)
1 tsp cumin
1 large red chili, finely sliced
1 tsp coriander
2 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp chopped coriander
about 500ml water


Method
Start with the lamb. Score the joint all over and pretty deeply (but don’t cut through), then rub the tandoori paste all over it, and sprinkle the lemon juice over it – also season it at this stage.  Leave it in the fridge for at least 4 hrs, then combine the powder and yoghurt and coat the marinated joint with the mixture, and leave it in the fridge for at least another 2-3 hrs.  (The longer you can marinade it for the better – a day would be ideal, but is also a little unrealistic!)

Once marinated, put in on a roasting rack and place in a pre-heated oven on about gas mark 2.  Cook it until the marinade starts to harden, then cover the lot in foil and cook it for as long as necessary so that the meat pulls easily from the bone – this could take a while…

Meanwhile… finely chop the onions and cube the butternut squash and fry both in the ghee until they start to pick up colour, then add the curry powder, dried coriander and cumin, and the garlic.  Fry until the onions are golden, then add about a third of the water, the chili and half the chopped coriander. 

Get it onto a fast simmer and cook until the water’s absorbed, then add another third, cover and leave on a very low simmer. 

Once the lamb is falling apart, shred it or cube it, and add it to the curry pan.  Add more water if needed to loosen the curry, and cook until the two parts are nicely combined.  Add the rest of the coriander and serve.

I usually serve this with a naan bread from our local oriental supermarket, the Bristol Sweet Mart – they’re not thick and floury like the standard curry house fare but thinner – almost like a lavash bread.  I cook these on a metal oven tray over a direct flame (don’t use your favourite non-stick obviously!!).  Melt some ghee on the tray then pop the bread in, plain side down. 

While it’s frying, sprinkle the other side with a little tap water (i run my hand under the tap and flick the water on it), then flip the bread over – you want it slightly charring, but not burnt! If you’ve got to do a few (i allow one bread person, unless it’s just me and Trina in which case, we split the other one between us - they come in packs of three…), keep them in foil while you cook them –they’ll stay tender and warm.