Jono & Jules do food & wine

This is the first recipe we’ve tried from Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Easy.

Be warned… it’s little bit unusual. In our picture it looks kind of like an Irish stew weirdly paired with rice. In fact it is very like an Irish stew except it has Indian spices and coconut milk in it (so not actually very Irish at all).

Still if you’re prepared to try something a bit different, this is actually really nice with a sauce which is not overtly spicy . More mild and warming and perfect comfort food for a cold night. I suspect this is much more authentic than the rich sauces we have come to associate with Indian food.

Kerala Lamb Stew – serves 4

• 4 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 0.5 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 10 cloves
• 10 cardamom pods
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped
• about 20 curry leaves, torn (you can buy these in asian shops and this recipe suggests 10 fresh basil leaves as a substitute if you can’t get them. Don’t be fooled by the dry ones you can buy in supermarkets though as they are not a good substitute.)
• 2 tsps very finely grated ginger
• 900g stewing lamb
• 450g potatoes, pelled and diced into 2.5cm cubes
• 4 medium carrots, cut into 4cm chunks
• 1.75 tsps salt
• 0.25 to 1.5 tsps cayenne pepper
• 300ml coconut milk (shake the tin well before opening)

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pan over a medium-high heat.

Add the cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, cloves and cardamom and sizzle for a few seconds.

Add the onion and stir until it turns light brown.

Add the curry leaves and ginger and stir for a minute.

Add the lamb and stir it around for a few minutes.

Add 1 litre of water and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the potatoes, carrots, salt and cayenne pepper and bring to the boil.

Cover and cook gently for 40 minutes, or until the meat is tender.

Add the coconut milk and crush a few of the potato pieces against the side of the pan to thicken the sauce.

Bring to a simmer and serve.