One-Spice Lamb Curry
Why switch recipes when your tried-and-true is still good after 40 years?
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 onions, sliced
- 3/4 cup butter [whew! I used 1/4 cup olive oil instead]
- 3 lbs cubed lamb meat, dredged in flour [1/2 cup]
- 3 Tblsp curry powder
- 3 tart apples, peeled and chopped [I didn't have any, so I used 3 cups of cubed butternut squash — yummy]
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 lemons, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup flaked/shredded coconut [I used unsweetened]
- 1/4 cup brown sugar [I used just 1 Tblsp]
- 1 Tblsp salt [1 tsp is plenty]
Directions
- Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil.
- Add dredged flour and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Add curry powder and apples, simmer for five minutes. Sir again.
- Add all remaining ingredients.
- Pour 3 cups water over all and stir.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for one hour [I used only 2 cups of water and covered the pan for the long cooking, in hopes of making the whole thing thicker in the end. It worked.]
Most curry recipes these days vie for the longest spice list, or so it seems. I enjoy trying the various combinations, but sometimes it's nice to just grab the jar of "Curry Powder" and be done with it. Not to mention we farmers seldom have retail outlets nearby offering shelves of freshly ground individual spices. This recipe makes delicious curry using one good already-mixed curry powder.
My college roommate sent me this recipe in 1974 and I still have her battered 5x7 handwritten recipe card. When I made the curry again last week after losing track of it for years, I wanted to change very little, as noted in brackets. The recipe clearly has stood the test of time. Both the original and the revised versions are very tasty over plain white or brown rice, especially on a damp chilly winter stay-at-home Saturday night.
Bon appétit!