It is dinner time, once again. And I’m feeling nostalgic and inspired. Being a Natal girl( Indian capital of Africa) I hold curry very dear to my heart. It’s one of my go to foods when I’m missing home :). Even though growing up we had a milder version of, I’ve grown up to appreciate some spice.
Lamb is my favourite red meat and I happen to have a portioned leg of lamb in my freezer. This actually saves me a lot of money, we all know lamb is not the cheapest meat. So instead of buying a leg/ shoulder of lamb, roasting all of it or however you make it and ending up with loads of leftovers. I portion it into smaller pieces, cook just enough and refrigerate the rest in small bags to use another day. Some people freeze the leftover meat but I prefer to freeze uncooked meat, as it still gives you options when you decide to cook it later.
I’m also trying something new tonight. Last night’s dessert turned out so well, that I’m inspired to continue while on the winning streak. Maybe my flour woes are over :), I can only hope. So tonight I’m going face to face with flour once again, with my homemade Roti bread aka Chipati. I have found a perfectly simple recipe from this blog: http://www.journeykitchen.com. Looks like I’m using a recipe again, maybe I’m finally growing up.
And dinner is: Durban inspired Lamb curry with rice, sambals and homemade Roti. I’m very particular about my curry and I cook it how I like it, eg. I love the flavours of the seeds/leaves and pods but I don’t appreciate them being left behind in the curry. For me, biting into a cinnamon or star anise fragrant pod can really ruin the taste buds.
Ok here it goes:
What do you need? Serves 4
– Portion of lamb leg- cubed
– veggies: onion, peppers( red, green, yellow), garlic, tomato, baby potatoes.
– spices- cardamom, star anise, black mustard seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds, aromat, coriander powder, home made masala spice( nutmeg, cumin, coriander powder, cayenne, paprika, pepper, salt, cinnamon powder, fennel powder and Rajah mild & spicy curry powder)
– Long grain rice. – wheat flour.
– herbs- fresh coriander( from my roof top garden).
– chicken stock cube. – lemon – 1 cup of red wine
Method
– The curry: Should take 25-30 min. In a non-stick pot, put in 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 4 cardamom pods, 2 star anise pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves. Dry roast for 5 min to release the natural oils of the spices, then add 2 tbs of olive oil and continue roasting for 2 more min. Then remove pot from heat, sieve the oil and discard the spices. The oil is now infused with the flavours extracted from the spices.
Place the oil back into the pot, onto the stove. Add chopped onion and soften, then 1 tbs of garlic, pepper and sauté. Then add halved baby potatoes, not peeling the skins, and finely chopped tomato. Add 2 tbs of Masala spice, 1 tsp of coriander powder, stock cube and 1/2 cup of red wine. And cook.
In 10 min, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. After a total of 20 min( the potatoes should be almost cooked depending on size), add the lamb cubes, another 1 tbs of Masala and the other 1/2 cup of red wine. Cooking the lamb should take 7 -10 min. Season with salt to taste, sprinkle fresh coriander and combine well. Then remove from stove.
– Rice- add a cup of rice in a pot with salty water and 1 bay leaf, and cook until soft. Then drain excess liquid.
– The Roti- follow the recipe from the blog mentioned above, which is super simple. But I’m making a serving for 4, so halving the ingredients. All you do is combine 1 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp of salt and little by little 1/2 cup of warm water. Mix and knead until your hands and the bowl are almost flour free. Let the dough rest for 10 min, then knead it again and roll it out thinly into 7cm diameter circles.
– The Sambals- Combine a finely chopped onion, deseeded tomato, 1 green chili without seeds, fresh coriander. Then squeeze lemon juice, add 1/2 tsp of aromat and sprinkle with black pepper, lemon zest and chopped coriander.
And it is done, now serve and enjoy. Hope this meal takes you to a special place as well 🙂 .
