A quick hello! And that Lamb Madras recipe.

I think I will be posting about next week's menus tomorrow - I need to get out on the balcony and in the courtyard to finish planting out my pots - but I wanted to direct you over to the View from the Teapot so you can read about our visit to Lyon with my mum. You can read about it here: Flâner-ing in Lyon

 

The curry night on Tuesday went well -  and the Lamb Madras was delicious!!! I made it on Sunday and it matured in the fridge for a couple of days, which I think made it even better. I reduced the heat a little, in deference to French tastes, but otherwise this is the recipe.

• The Paste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5-8 dried red chillies (depending on how hot you want the curry)
• 6 fresh curry leaves
• 5- 7 cloves garlic, chopped, or ten teaspoons of garlic paste
• 2 teaspoons ginger paste or fresh chopped ginger

• The Curry
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 kg diced lamb
• 125g ghee or butter
• 100ml vegetable oil
• 4 medium onions, sliced
• 1 tin (400ml) of coconut milk
• 1 cup (250ml) water
• 6 cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water
• 1 heaped teaspoon Garam Masala

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Directions

Preparation:30min  ›  Cook:1hour30min  ›  Ready in:2hours 

1. Making the curry paste: In a dry frying pan, dry roast the coriander seeds till they start to go brown, then pour into pestle and mortar or a food processor. Repeat this with cumin seeds and dried chillies. Add the salt and the curry leaves to the mortar or food processor and grind them into a fine powder without any lumps. Add the garlic and the ginger and pound or stir to form a thick paste. Leave aside.
2. Making the curry: dry roast the fennel seeds as you did for the coriander etc, set aside. Sprinkle the turmeric over the diced meat and make sure it’s all coated. Set aside.
3. Heat the butter and oil and add the onions and fry on a medium heat for 10 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Add the curry paste and fry for 1 minute. Add the meat and fry for 1 minute. Add 2/3 of the tin of coconut milk and the water and bring to the boil. Cook on a medium/high heat for 10 minutes.
4. Add the remaining coconut milk and 1 cup of water. Bring to a simmer and turn the heat right down so the liquid gently bubbles. Stir in the cardamom pods, the cinnamon stick and the fennel seeds.
5. Cook for 1 1/2 hours with the lid partially on, stirring occasionally to ensure it isn’t sticking. Add little bits of water if it reduces too much.
6. Add the tamarind, sugar and garam masala and cook for 5 more minutes or until the sauce thickens. Scoop out the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick before servin

Do try it! If you like curries I think you'll like this.

I couldn't get hold of tamarind paste but used this as a substitute: 2 tbsp tomato purée, 1 tbsp worcester sauce, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 squeeze of lime juice, 1 tsp sugar. It seemed to work.
Also, here in France it's difficult to find things like curry leaves...I just busked with what I could find. Delicious!!

See you tomorrow!