Gonglu gosht

Gonglu gosht or lamb & turnip curry is a curry that takes me straight to my childhood as it's something my mum would make often as I loved any kind of vegetable with lamb curry.

I had a random craving for it a few days ago so just had to make it.

To serve 4- 6 people you will need:

1kg lamb - ideally on the bone
4 medium onions sliced
1 bay leaf
1 level tsp curry powder (hot)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 black cardamom
3 cloves
1 tin chopped tomato
3 green chillies
1 whole bulb of garlic
1 inch peice of ginger crushed
1 small turnip par boiled & cut into chunks

• Start by placing all the ingredients ( except for the turnip ) into a heavy based pan

• Add enough water so that it just comes above the lamb. Give it a good stir then place on a medium heat and leave to simmer

• Simmer everything together until the onions & tomatoes have broken down, the garlic cloves are nice & soft & the lamb has no pinkness  - you may need to top the water up a couple of times until everything has broken down and mixed together.

• Once you have what looks like a curry sauce, add in the oil and on a medium to high heat, cook the lamb to brown all over & for the moisture to evaporate - stirring intermittently ensuring it doesn't catch & burn.

• Once the moisture has evaporated add in the turnip and cook together- again stirring intermittently- until the turnip is soft & cooked completely & the oil begins to separate

• Once the oil has separated add in enough freshly boiled water to cover the lamb & on a medium heat let it reduce & thicken up to your desired consistency.

• Alternatively you can add just a splash of water to slightly loosen the consistency & leave as a dry curry/ a bhuna.

• Garnish with fresh coriander & Serve with chappatis or naan

Easy peasy Naan

These are the easiest naans ever I promise you ... 5 ingredients, no waiting around for the dough to prove & you don't even need your oven... 

To make my super easy naan you'll need:

5 cups of self raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tub natural yogurt

Water 

• Mix together  The flour and baking powder in a bowl. Then add the 3/4 tub of yoghurt mix together until it begins to stick together slightly 

• Slowly add a little bit of water at a time until you have a soft dough.  Knead the dough for a couple of minutes until smooth & leave to rest for a minimum of an hour in the fridge covered with cling film - this can be made the night before - or at room temp until you are ready to use it. 

• This amount of dough will make 4-6 naan depending on how big your dough portions are. 

• I take a ball of dough, roll out to about 1- 1/2 an inch thick then place on a non stick pan meduim heat and let the underside cook until the surface starts to bubble. 

• I then flip the naan over to let the top side cook until there are little brown bubbles all over the surface & serve as desired. 

• To make garlic naan, add a couple of tsp of garlic granules to the flour. Once the naan are cooked, brush with garlic butter & serve.

Any left over dough can be stored innan air tight container for a couple of days.

Meat & potato pie

Those winter nights are drawing in and whatever you call your evening meal depending on whereabouts you're from in the UK, the one thing we all want when its cold & gloomy is something warm, comforting & taste bud tingling delicious 

Well my recipe for a meat and potato pie is just that. Delicious slow cooked beef, paired with potatoes & encased in a rich short crust pastry.

The perfect centre peice for a family winter evening dinner. To serve 4-6 people you will need :

800g boneless beef or lamb

2 medium onions chopped

3 tbsps plain flour

300ml veg stock

2 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tsp onion salt

2 tsp marmite/veg extract

4/5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

1 tbsp tyme leaves ( fresh or dried ) 

2 tsp tomato puree

A good handful of steamed baby potatoes 

2 blocks of short crust pastry/2 sheets of ready rolled short crust

• Start by coating the meat peices in the flour in a bowl

• Seal the meat by cooking on a meduim to high heat until browned all over. You may find it easier to do it in batches. 

• Once the meat is browned all over, add in the chopped onion and cook until the onions are soft and beginning to colour. 

• Add in all the other ingredients except for the potatoes and leave to simmer on a low heat until the meat is nice and tender and the stock has reduced to a nice thick gravy. 

• Add in the steamed potatoes and stir through. Check the seasoning & adjust if required. Leave to completely cool 

• If you're using the pastry block, roll one block out to an inch thick and use this to line a 23cm round pie dish. For the sheet,  no need to roll - you can line your dish without rolling 

• Pour the cooled filling into the lined dish then roll out the 2nd block to the same thickness and place over the filling. Seal the edges by pressing them together with a fork or tip of a butter knife. 

• Brush the top of the pie with egg wash .. make a hole in the middle for the steam to escape. You can decorate the pie with the left over pastry trimmings - i used my leaf cookie cutter

• Bake for 25-35 mins at 210 fan or until golden brown all over & serve with whichever sides you like