Multipurpose lamb curry

Heat a good layer of oil in a casserole dish.


Add the following spices for about 10/20 secs in a sieve or big spoon.
1 whole nutmeg, roughly crushed
1 tbsp mace pieces
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 sticks cinnamon
1 tbsp corriander seeds
When quickly fried, put in blender or grind somehow to rough powder. This is a nice Garam Masala mix.

When spices done put 3 lamb shanks (about 1.5kg/3lb) in hot oil and quickly brown. Take out when browned

Peel and blend about 6in Ginger. Add to oil and stir fry for about 5mins. Add:
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp ground Ginger
1tbsp burnt onion powder
Almost all the garam masala (use the rest to garnish)

Fry for 1 min

Add and onion, a chopped fennel, sliced fresh chilli, carrot, bit of other chopped veg that you have lying around

Fry for about 3 mins

Add the lamb shanks and enough water/stock/wine/mixture to just cover (about 1.5 pints)
Bring to boil.
Cover with tight fitting lid and put in oven. 160*C for about 3hrs

When cooked, add a mix of 2tbsp flour with 5 tbsp water, some chopped corriander, juice of one lemon. Allow to cool. You should have a thick jellyish gloop

Now the interesting part...

Pick the meat off the bone. Should just fall off. Seperate into sensible portions. Should get at least four.
Keep one portion for butties, wraps or to have with chips and veg as an alternative Sunday roast.

Divide the sauce between remaining portions and do some of the following:

Thin with a bit of water and add rice for standard curry

Add a lot of water for a delicious soup

Mix in cooked lentils for lovely daal

Mix in cooked new spuds for nice casserole

Leave as a thick gloop, warm through and fill some chipatis

Mmmmmmmmmmm

Homemade Spices - Burnt Onion

Chop an onion into thin rings. Take a heavy pan and put a good layer of oil in. You need to be able to cover the onion rings. Heat the oil and add the rings. As the rings start to brown, turn the heat down. You want to get them a light brown colour & brittle texture over about 10 mins.
When done taken them out and put on kitchen towel to dry. When dry you should be able to crush them in a pestle & morter to a moist paste. This can be used as a garnish or a spice in other curries

Never ending tomato mince

Roughly chop 2 large onions. Fry gently in olive oil in a large pan. Add about 4 crushed cloves of garlic. Fry until clear, about 8 mins.
Add about 1.5kg mince & stir until brown. Throw in some finely chopped carrot and various colour peppers.
Stir in a really good squeeze of tomato purée for about 5 mins before adding 2 tins chopped tomatoes. Rinse the cans with about a glass of red wine into the pan and add about 2 tsp marmite. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and leave to simmer and reduce.

This is called never ending because you can use it for all sorts. Try using the sauce as a bolognese with pasta, or in a lasagne or cannelloni. Put in a dish & top with normal mash or sweet potato mash for a nice, different shepherds pie. Throw over a jacket potato or fill a wrap for lunch.
Mix in some powdered cumin, chilli & various beans to convert it to a nice chilli. It really is never ending.


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Chicken Orzo Risotto (Chorzotto?)

Melt some butter in olive oil. Add chopped onion & garlic. When soft, add pieces of chicken thigh. Size is up to individual taste - I like big chunky pieces.

When chicken is browned add chopped courgettes, peppers, carrots, celery, green beans, sweetcorn, mushroom and / or any other veg you prefer. Add the veg one at a time and stir for a minute before adding the next. Stir for 5 mins after adding last veg. Mix in a bit of rosemary & sage.

Add enough hot stock to cover, meanwhile put the Orzo in boiling water for about 5 mins. It should be undercooked when you drain.

Add the orzo to the chicken / veg mix, ensuring there is enough liquid. You can add more if necessary but use hot water or stock.

Stir until the orzo is cooked, and the liquid is the required thickness. Top with a nice grated cheese & a squeeze of lemon juice.




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Random Chickpea curry

Fry off finely chopped onion, garlic & grated fresh ginger (about 3cm) in nut oil. Don't have oil too hot, mix should slowly go transparent, not darken.

Add 1 tbsp crushed coriander seeds, 2 tsp crushed cumin seeds, 1 tsp crushed fennel seeds. Mix well

Add 1 tsp fenugreek, 1/2 tsp tumeric & whatever chilli you want. Mix in

Chop some okra into big chunks & stir in. Could also add finely chopped peppers, courgettes and/aubergine.

Add drained tin of chickpeas (or 2 if you want it thicker)

Cook for at least 20 mins, longer if you can. If it dries, just add a touch of water.

Serve with chopped coriander leaves & a squeeze of lemon juice

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