mardi, mars 07, 2006

My Indian Lamb Curry with Okra

Indian Lamb Curry with Okra

I eat a curry of some sort at least once a week and though I do not look even remotely Indian (except on a badly-sunburnt day and the fact that I now have a bouncy tummy that saris love to expose), I consider curries one of my staple foods.

My children were force-fed curries since they were in the womb and even my baby is a curry-lover. I am married to another curry-lover who swears by his curry guru Madhur Jaffrey though I'm more the cook-by-feeling kind of cook. (It just occurred to me that he probably adores MJ because she looks like the Indian version of his English ex-girlfriend who incidentally was the person who introduced him to MJ.)

Thought I should write down one of my recipes so that friends who ask could access it.

Once again my measures are all approximative, I really just go by feeling.

Curries are delicious and quite simple, you just need to have all the spices at hand and if you wish, you could even make large quantites and freeze them in small portions. They are actually better re-heated.

For this curry I have about half a kilo of boneless leg of lamb cut into cubes and marinated for at least 30 minutes in generous amounts of salt, pepper, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cinnamon powder, cumin powder, mustard seeds, black onion seeds, aniseed, paprika powder, cayenne pepper, fenugreek seeds and a pinch of ground cloves and nutmeg.

I would then cut 2 large onions in quarters, a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger in slices, peel 5 cloves of garlic and peel and slice 2-3 tomatoes. Then mix everything with a blender with a bit of water to make a paste.

Heat up some oil in a non-stick casserole or cooking pot and start to brown some sliced onions followed by the marinated cubes of lamb. Then add in a few crushed cardamon pods and a tablespoonful of Garam Masala. Lower the heat and add in the paste. Stir everything (paste, meat etc) for a few minutes and then stir in a cup of plain yoghurt. Add in a bay leaf and some chicken or beef stock. Cover the pot and leave it for 30 minutes or till the meat is tender.***

10 minutes before serving, add in 100-200g of sliced fresh okra (lady's fingers), some fresh coriander leaves and a spoonful of cream. Squeeze some lime juice and sprinkle some roasted sliced almonds over it. Serve hot with basmati rice, spiced rice, naan or roti prata.

Hope you'll enjoy it as much as we usually do.

***If you want the sauce to be a little coarse, you can add some roasted dessicated grated coconut in it.

1 commentaire:

Beau Lotus 涟 a dit…

I've been steaming fish for years in the microwave like I told you the other day. Actually very easy, just prepare your fish (Sole, Sea Bass...make a few cuts in the skin of the fish), put julienned ginger, chopped garlic, sliced Shitake mushroom, sliced chilli padi all over it. Then prepare a sauce with sugar, light soya sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, white/red wine or Sherry and eventually some of the liquid from the mushroom. Pour over the fish. Cover with microwaveable plastic film or use microwaveable container. Depending on the size and thickness of the fish, it could take from 5 to 10 minutes and remember to turn over fish half-way. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.