So for Ostara I made Lamb Curry in the slow cooker. :) This was from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook. It turned out pretty damn good, although I have some tweaks that I'll probably do next time I make it. And it was certainly helped by the Lime Ginger Pickle that I picked up at one of the local Indian grocery stores...in fact, I bought a bunch of spices there as well. Woo Hoo!
2-4 tbsp cooking oil (actually, I used ghee. Mmmm, butter. Even better, clarified butter, so it's just the butterfat)
2 medium yellow onions, chopped (I used 1 large Vidalia and 1/2 a large white onion)
2 lbs lamb shoulder, shank or butt roast trimmed of visible fat and cut into cubes. (I bought stew meat, but discovered that it's impossible to get stew meat without fat. So either I'll splurge next time, or roast the meat for a while instead of sauteeing it, which should release some of the fat)
1 1/2 in piece of ginger, peeled
2 Serrano or Jalapeno peppers, seeded
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 14-oz can unsweetened coconut milk (it's usually in the Asian section. I used coconut cream, which is thicker and has a higher coconut oil concentration)
2 large tart apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
5 green cardamom pods
3 black cardamom pods
1 4-in cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
4 cloves
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup fruit chutney (processed till smooth in food processor, if desired)
In a large non-stick skillet, heat half the oil over medium high heat and brown half the onions and half the lamb on all sides, about 10 min. Remove them to the cooker and brown the remaining onions and lamb. Add THAT to the cooker.
Chop the ginger, garlic & chiles together in a mini food processor and add a bit of the broth to make a paste. Add this to the skillet, along with the cumin, coriander and turmeric, stirring constantly, for a few minutes, Sprinkle with flour and add the remaining broth (oooh! it's a roux!); stir until smooth, then pour into the cooker. Add the coconut milk and apples and stir to combine. Put the cardamom pods bay leaf, cinnamon & cloves into cheesecloth (or tea ball, or something similar) and nestle into the mixture. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Turn the cooker to LOW and cook until the lamb is very tender, about 6-8 hours.
Discard the spice bag, and season with salt to taste. Stir in the yogurt and chutney and let sit, covered, in cooker for 15 minutes to heat. Serve with basmati rice and cilantro (if desired).
I think next time I'll probably marinate the lamb stew meat in some spices (garam masala), and then roast it to remove some of the fat. I'm also thinking that cutting the onion in bigger chunks and roasting them would be a good idea as well. I also think I'll probably up the spice quotient, since I found myself adding spices during cooking. I added some mango ginger (wonderful smelling stuff), which was one of the finds in the Indian grocery and some hot curry powder.
All in all, it turned out pretty tasty. :) Have I mentioned that I like to cook?
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