Authentic Lamb/Mutton Curry - SYN FREE!
Firstly let me run you through the basics of indian cooking! Here are some pictures of essential spices you will need for ANY type of curry!
What we have here is my spice box (Left picture) On the left is the contents of the tin, and on the right is the lid that has a little section in it to put other spices in. Starting from the yellow spice I will go anti clockwise. We have Turmeric, Red chilli powder, Cumin and Corriander powder (mixed together), Fenugreek seeds, Cumin, Carom seeds and in the middle, black mustard seeds. In the lid we have star anise, large cinammon bark, cardamon seeds, black pepper corns, dried chillis and cloves
In the left hand picture we have blended green chillis and garlic and ginger paste. We home make these however you can also buy them in packets in the frozen section where this has already been preblended and frozen into cubes. The garlic and ginger will most likely be seperate, so you need to defrost a cube of each and then mix it together. Only defrost as much as you think you will use as this can go off fairly quickly if not used. The blended green chillis may have oil in it, but for the amount you use in ratio to how much is put in, it wouldnt even be 1/15th of a teaspoon, so i dont bother counting this!
Right back to the recipe!
You can use mutton or lamb for this, we tend to use mutton but it is much more tough and chewy, but I prefer this however cooking time for mutton is a lot longer than if you were to use lamb.
Ingredients:
Star Anise
Cloves
Cinammon bark
Frylight
Onion
1/4 Aubergine
Corriander
Red chilli powder
Turmeric
Corriander and cumin powder
Blended green chillis
Garlic and Ginger paste
Chopped tomatoes
Lamb/Sheep - However much you want!
Salt
Water
Passata
This recipe is enough for 1-2 servings
1.Start by blending an onion and a quarter of an aubergine and half a tin of chopped tomatoes until smooth and keep this to the side
2. In a saucepan heat gently some frylight and add 1 piece of cinnamon bark broken up, a small piece of star anise (I broke a little leaf section off and used this) and a few cloves and let them cook in the frylight for a bit
3. Add the blended onions, aubergine and a handful of freshly chopped and washed corriander and let this brown gently - be sure the heat isnt too high as the onions will burn too quickly - if they start to stick a little, just add a few drops of water, alternatively add some more frylight.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir.
5. Add the spices: 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 a teaspoon of turmeric, 1/2 a teaspoon red chilli powder (add less if you can't handle the spice - This is how much I used - see pic below - and this was fairly spicy for me, and I can eat X X X hot sauce at nandos
) 1 teaspoon of cumin and coriander powder, 1 teaspoon of garlic and ginger paste and 1/2 teaspoon of blended green chillies
6. Let this all cook for 5 minutes on a medium heat and then add the lamb/mutton
7. Add about 4 tablespoons of passata and 1/2 pint of water, cover and leave to cook on a medium heat. Ensure you check every 10 minutes and keep an eye on the meat. Mutton may take up to 2.5 hours to cook, lamb may take around an hour. Just keep checking on it until its cooked through and falls apart easily. If you wish you can cook the mutton/lamb in a pressure cooker before and then add it, but it tastes better when its cooked slowly in the sauce.
HAHA not the best picture of the overall product, and to be honest I forgot to take a picture of it on my plate because I was starving and I wolfed it all down and then I was like d'oh! But I have some left so will take a picture for you all later this afternoon.
This recipe can be applied EXACTLY the same if you would like to cook chicken curry apart from the fact that you substitute the aubergine for another half an onion, you dont add as much water and you don't cook it for as long.
Next time I cook it I will post a recipe!
Now time to post - lets hope it works haha
