Spiced Lamb with Coconut
I had no choice but to feature a lamb recipe this month and although lamb is not necessarily everyone’s favorite red meat, it can be delicious when prepared well. Growing up in England, roast lamb on a Sunday was as common for us as roast beef, and I recall one famous summer in France when my cousin slow-cooked a large leg of lamb in the BBQ, infused with numerous cloves of garlic and fresh rosemary, for hours and hours until the meat fell off the bone… But for this month, I decided to combine the “lamb” and the “Fiery heat” of Aries, resulting in “Lamb Curry!”
For the Dry Marinade:
1 inch piece of fresh Ginger (peeled & grated)
1 tablespoon Curry Powder
1 tablespoon ground Cumin
1 tablespoon ground Coriander
1 teaspoon ground Turmeric
Salt & Black Pepper
For the Curry:
2 lbs boneless shoulder of Lamb (cut & trimmed into 1-inch cubes)
2 tablespoons Butter
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
I large Onion (sliced)
2 large cloves of Garlic (crushed)
1 tablespoon all-purpose Flour
13 oz can of chopped Tomatoes
2/3 cup of Stock or Water
Grated zest and juice of 1 Lime
2 tablespoons Mango Chutney
¼ cup of Coconut Milk
1 cup Plain Yogurt
Cilantro sprigs for garnish
Make the marinade by combining the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Toss the cubed Lamb in the dry marinade, cover and leave in the refrigerator overnight. To make the curry, melt the Butter with the Vegetable Oil in a large flameproof casserole dish. Cook the marinated Lamb in batches over a high heat for about 5 minutes, until browned all over. Lift out of the pan with a slotted utensil and set aside. Add the Onion and Garlic to the pan and cook gently until softened, but not browned. Stir in the Flour and cook for a minute, then add the Tomatoes and the Stock, the Lime zest & juice and the Mango Chutney. Add Salt & Black Pepper to taste and bring to a boil, stirring. Add the Lamb back in to the casserole along with the Coconut Milkand again, bring back up to the boil. Cover and cook in the oven at 325 degrees for about 1 hour or until the meat is tender and cooked through. Stir in the Yogurt before serving and garnish with the Cilantro. Serve with Basmati or Rice of your choice.