Lamb Korma

Korma .. Probably the most popular curry for non Asians due to it's cream based non chilli flavour, but to me a curry isn't a curry if it doesn't have that hit of heat - wether it's mild or blistering hot there needs to be some form of  spice !

With this dish I did exactly what i love- experimented, tweaked and tested and the recipe below is the end result. If you're not a fan of lamb, I will be putting up my chicken version too.

This is a fab dish for when you've planned an evening with friends or family as not only is it indulgent  and aromatic- a real palate pleaser, it can be done in advance and frozen half way through cooking, and finished off on the day you require it 

The amounts below are for about 5-6 people:

2 medium onions

100ml ghee

4-5 garlic cloves crushed

1 inch piece ginger crushed / 1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp salt

1tbsp cumin seeds

1 tsp cloves

1tsp black peppercorns

4 green cardamoms

1 tbsp curry powder

zest & juice of 1 lemon

2- 2 1/2 lb lamb*

2oz ground almonds

200ml double cream

2oz flaked almonds 

• Heat the ghee in a heavy based pan, slice your onions and add to the oil along with the ginger and garlic. Fry on a low heat, stirring frequently until the onions have softened and just begin to colour.
• While the onions are cooking, grind the the cumin, cloves, peppercorns & cardamom in a blender mill or with a pestle and mortar.
• Add the ground spices to the onion along with the curry powder stir well  and cook through for another couple of minutes
• Turn the heat up to almost full and add in your lamb. Cook and stir through until the lamb has browned well, add in the lemon zest, juice, salt, ground almonds and stir through
• Cover the pan and leave to simmer gently for about an hour till the lamb is tender. Stir in the cream once the lamb is cooked, sprinkle in the flaked almonds
• Serve with boiled rice or naan 

* You can substitute the lamb for chicken instead if you prefer, swap the almonds for dessicated coconut and to make a slightly lighter version  swap 50ml of the double cream for natural yogurt or even creme fraiche