Lamb Rogan Josh

 Curry is something I have been making since I was a child. I seem to have passed through some cycle whereby I used to use only bought curry powders and pastes, then advanced to roasting and grinding the spices myself, having an instinctive feel for the interplay between the differing elements and then to making huge mistakes and lapses of judgement so that each curry tasted too bitter or too sweet, to now, only relying on recipes to produce good results. I'd like to think the reason is that my palate has improved and my previous amateur efforts now too bland or not subtle enough for me to distinguish. Probably, though, I have become over-confident in my judicious use of the elements creating a mish-mash of flavours too unbalanced.

 Whatever the reason, and keeping in mind Neil's dislike of earthiness or cumin, I decided to play it safe last night and make a classic from a classic book. I chose Rogan Josh for its beautiful orange colour through the use of chili powder, paprika and turmeric and its spicy, well rounded flavour. It turned out to be as good as a restaurant curry, better even, having a home-cooked taste sometimes missing in even the best curry houses.

Recipe: Lamb Rogan Josh

1 lb leg of lamb, chopped into cubes with some fat still attached (this will melt and make it incredibly tender).

1 onion and 1 shallot, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped small

1 inch piece ginger, chopped small

2 tbsp ghee or oil

2 black cardamoms

4 green cardamoms

4 cloves

2 large bay leaves

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried coriander powder

1 tsp dried cumin powder

1/4 tsp turmeric

100 ml plain yogurt

1 1/3 pints water with a lamb or beef stock cube

salt

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and fry the onion, shallot, ginger and garlic for about 10 minutes until lightly browned.

Add the cloves, cardamoms, bay leaves and cook for 1 minute.

Mix the chili powder and paprika with a little water to make a paste and add along with the turmeric, cumin and coriander, stir well and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the lamb and cook for 5 minutes.

Stir the yoghurt and add to the pan. Stir well and saute for a few minutes.

Add the water and salt to taste, bring to the boil, reduce heat to gentle simmer, cover and cook for 2 - 3 hours.

You can remove the whole spices and bay leaves before serving

 The last of my Swiss Chard was used in a stir fry to accompany the curry. The -10oC freeze two weeks ago all but killed these final little shoots. I have optimistically re-potted the little remaining stems and placed in a warmer environment. Watch this space.