Parsi Lamb

this is a fantastic curry and really easy to make. It looks surprisingly ordinary - but the results are fantastic. I've presented the recipe in a way which is designed for the cook - dividing the recipe into lots in sequence. I find this easier than rereading the list of ingredients and the recipe to find out what goes where.

Lot 1

4 Large Onions sliced
4 Green Cardoman pods
3 cloves
4 cm cinnamon stick

Lot 2

50ml of water
2 garlic cloves
thumb sized piece of ginger
(or two tablespoons of ginger and garlic paste)
1.5 tsp of chilli powder
1 tbsp ground cumin (I freshly grind mine)
1.5 tsp of turmeric
1.5 tsp salt

Lot 3

3 tomatoes chopped
750g of cubed leg of lamb
1 dried red chilli
4 green chillies sliced lengthways
200ml water

Lot 4

3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Method

1. Heat 6 tbsps of Vegetable oil over a medium heat then add Lot 1, stirring occasionally for 20-25 minutes until the onions are golden.

2. Add the water from Lot 2 which drops the temperature then add Lot 2 and cook for 1 minute

3. Add Lot 3 then simmer for 40 minutes - or until he lamb is tender

4. Add Lot 4 and serve or you can freeze for up to 6 weeks

Serve with boiled basmati rice.

Red Pepper and Coconut Chutney

Outside of the American psyche we have other programmer food than pizza which fuels software development - a lot of people who work in the Investment Banking community are addicted to curry and there's a good choice of hard core restaurants nearby like one of my favourites, the Lahore Kebab House. So as well as software wisdom, we'll be posting the occasional recipe - here's a start. This chutney only keeps for about a week in a cold fridge but is wonderful - if you can get it - use Kashmiri chilli powder for a more mellow flavour...

Ingredients

Two large red peppers (Bell or Capsicum)
Two teaspoons of roasted cumin seeds, finely ground
Two cloves of garlic
Two tablespoons of dessicated coconut
Half a teaspoon of salt
Half a teaspoon of hot chilli powder
Two tablespoons of water

Method

Dry roast the cumin seeds in a frying pan, colouring them to your taste, the darker the
roast, the stronger the taste. Grind in a spice mill or coffee grinder to a fine powder

Deseed the peppers and cut into small chunks suitable to put into a hand blender jug, then add
all the ingredients. Blend with a handblender and decant to a sterilised jar which should be refrigerated.

This is an excellent accompaniment to cold meats, dosas and any curry, particularly fish/shellfish.