Lamb Curry with Spinach and a side of Snow

January 12, 2013


Hiya! Happy New Year!

If you are anything like me, this time of year brings lots of cleaning, organizing, and recipe searching!! The cozy cold weather is here full force, with the free time to actually work the stove/crock pot/oven instead of having holiday to do lists standing in the way.  So if you are looking, you have found one of my all time favorite recipes:

Lamb Curry with Spinach.   

This time of year also means LOTS of skiing for our fam, and I love this recipe because it is a Crock Pot Recipe.

 

And even though the bambino in my belly prevents me from skiing the slopes this year, I do have lots of time to invest in the bunny hill with my 3 year old. Which still works up an appetite!

 

I literally assembled this at home the night before we left:

I then stuck it on the deck of the ski condo til the morning, when I plugged it in, and 4 hours later I had this for lunch.

I cannot even tell you how good this is.  The golden juices of the garlic, tumeric, cayenne, and lamb meat  simmered together make my mouth water.  And even though this is a grown up only meal because of the spice factor (it is not that hot but you know how even a little bit of heat turns the kids off. That’s ok, I made them clam chowder, which they love.  See next post!). That just means more for me. I actually tossed half of this in the freezer at the condo, so it awaits me some other wonderful snowy afternoon.  Sigh…..

I first found this recipe in the Oprah magazine, and the writer actually said she wasn’t much of a cook but this recipe changed her life because she could do it, it was easy because it was a slow cooker recipe.  So for those of you who are faint of heart about a) Indian Food b) cooking in general, know that this came from a non-cook.

I also noticed she got if from Williams-Sonoma Slow Cooker cook book, and though in my copy there is a recipe close to this in there, I like the magazine version better and the spices are a lot easier to find.

The cast of characters:

Note that the aromatics include onions, garlic and ginger, which pretty much assures you that what you are eating will be delicious.

 

Also notice that I have a leg of lamb here.  It is for sure a lot easier to buy already cubed lamb, and though I hated to waste the potential roast here, I NEEDED this Lamb Curry, so I cut it up and the leg had enough meat for 2 recipes.  It truly is the star of this recipe, for the distinct flavor of lamb meat mixed with these flavors gives it a taste like nothing I have ever had before.

So here you go.  (If you want more ski house/ski trip friendly recipes, click here)

Lamb Curry with Spinach (printable version here)

Servings: Serves 6–8
Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 3 yellow onions , chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic , peeled and minced
  • 1 (2-inch) piece of ginger , peeled and grated
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
  • 2 cups beef broth , preferably high quality
  • 3 pounds boneless leg of lamb , cut into 1-inch cubes
  • Salt
  • 6 cups baby spinach
  • 2 cups plain full-fat yogurt
Directions
Note: For an easy mint pilaf to serve with the curry, steam 2 cups basmati rice; just before serving, add about 3 tablespoons minced fresh mint. Fluff mint and rice together with a pair of forks.In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm oil. Add onions and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in ginger, cumin, cayenne, and turmeric and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in broth, raise heat to high, and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom. When broth comes to a boil, remove pan from heat.Put lamb in a slow cooker, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt. Add contents of frying pan. Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 4 hours or low-heat setting for 8 hours.Add baby spinach to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Just before serving, stir in 1 1/3 cups yogurt. Season to taste with salt. Spoon into shallow bowls and serve, passing remaining yogurt to add as a garnish.Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast: Slow Cooker, copyright © 2006 by Weldon Owen, Inc., and Williams-Sonoma, Inc., with permission from the publisher, Oxmoor House.

 

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