Not quite Peshwari lamb

I came across a recipe for Peshwari lamb curry, using chunks of fresh coconut which intrigued me; as I had some chunks of fresh coconut and as we haven’t had a curry for a long time I thought I would buy some lamb and have a go!

I bought the lamb, but when I came to look at the recipe it was actually a bit boring; it seemed to be just lamb mince, onions, peppers, coconut chunks, ginger and green beans… oh and some sultanas. So I did a little investigate and came across another recipe which seemed nice, so I merged the two. The other recipe came from Afghanistan, and as far as I can understand Peshwari means something is from Peshawar which is in that region… I could be wrong of course! I adjusted it according to the family taste, adding things which weren’t authentic, but just seemed right.

Anyway, my curry turned out beautifully, in fact there is only a little of the sauce left for me to take a photo of! If i did it again I would miss out the coconut chunks – which was what attracted me to the recipe in the first place… they just seemed the wrong texture.

Here is my recipe:

• 1 lb nice lamb, trimmed and cut in chunks
• lemon juice
• 2 medium onions, finely sliced
• 1/2 a large green pepper, finely sliced
• 2 small cloves of garlic
• half a dozen cherry tomatoes
• handful of sultanas
• 3/4 tub of yoghurt
• a few splashes of red wine
•  a good dash of balsamic vinegar
• creamed coconut ( I used a block and finely grated about 1/5 of it)
• 1/2 bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 cardamom
• 3 cloves
• 1 inch piece of cinnamon

1. put the lamb in a bowl with a really generous squeeze of lemon juice and the ground ginger and turmeric, and turn it over with a spoon so it’s coated (you can add a little more turmeric if you think you need to)
2. mix the chilli, pepper, coriander, cumin, fennel, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and toss quickly in a hot pan, just very briefly so you can smell the spices – don’t actually cook them!
3. fry the onions, pepper, tomatoes and garlic in a little oil, just until they begin to soften
4. add all the spices and stir round making sure they don’t catch on the bottom of the pan
5. add the lamb and brown it in the pan
6. add the sultanas, wine and balsamic
7. put a lid on and cook slowly – I put it in my slow oven
8. cooking time depends on the quality of the lamb – if it’s nice and not fatty or changy (technical term meaning sinewy or gristly) then it will cook quite quickly. If its not such good quality it will still taste absolutely yummy and delicious but will need longer cooking
9. when it is almost ready, keep it on a low heat, and gently stir in the coconut and yoghurt, and maybe a little more wine if you think it needs it
10. At the last minute stir in the coriander
11. serve with whatever you like, rice, naan, chapatis, whatever!