Easter Lamb Curry Recipes

Steps:

• Put ½ the thumb-sized piece of ginger, 2 quartered onions and 4 garlic cloves in a food processor with 300ml water. Blitz to a smooth purée.
• Scrape down the sides with a spoon and blitz again to make it as smooth as you can. Tip into a deep sauté pan, cover with a lid and simmer for 15 mins.
• Remove the lid and cook for 5 mins more, stirring occasionally. By now the liquid should be all gone. If not, cook a little longer.
• Add 2 tbsp rapeseed oil to the pan with the remaining piece of ginger, cut into matchsticks. Turn up the heat and fry, stirring, for 3-5 mins until it starts to colour.
• Stir in 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tbsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground turmeric and ½ tsp fennel seeds, then add 750g leg of lamb. Stir-fry until the lamb changes colour.
• Tip in 400g can chopped tomatoes with a can of water and 1 deseeded and sliced red or green chilli, season well, cover and leave to simmer for 1 hr.
• Stir in the finely chopped stalks from a small bunch coriander, re-cover and cook for a final 30 mins until the lamb is tender. Add a splash of water if necessary to loosen the consistency as it cooks.
• Stir in the roughly chopped coriander leaves and serve with basmati rice and mango chutney or raita.

Steps:

• Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-low heat. Saute lamb and onion in the hot oil until lamb is browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in broth, raisins, almonds, chutney, vinegar, curry, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
• Stir in rice. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Arrange the unpeeled garlic cloves, 3 bay leaves and the lemon quarters in a large roasting dish and cover with 200ml cold water. Sit the lamb on top, drizzle with the olive oil and rub it in all over.
• Using a small sharp knife, cut small incisions in the lamb skin, then tuck the remaining peeled and sliced garlic and bay leaves into these slits.
• Season the lamb well and sprinkle over the cinnamon. Cover tightly with foil and place in the oven. Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Leave to cook for 4 hrs, skimming the fat from the juices and removing the foil for the final 30 mins of cooking.
• After 1 hr, put the potato wedges in a large roasting tin, coat them in 4 tbsp olive oil and season well. Roast in the oven with the lamb for 11/2-2 hrs.
• Transfer the cooked lamb to a large piece of foil, wrap tightly and leave to rest for 20-30 mins. Check the potatoes are cooked (if you need to, turn the oven up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 to finish cooking). Add the olives and wine to the pan juices, simmer them and keep warm until ready to carve. Serve the lamb thickly sliced with the olives, potatoes and Tahini & lemon sauce (see 'goes well with'), with the meat juices poured over at the last minute.

Steps:

• Take the lamb out of the fridge 1 hr before cooking it and use a sharp knife to make small incisions all over the meat. Mix the oil with the oregano, chopped rosemary and lemon zest. Rub the marinade all over the lamb, massaging it well into the cuts.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the garlic, chilli, potatoes, fennel and remaining rosemary into a large roasting tin, pour over some olive oil and toss together. Season the lamb generously, then lay it on top of the veg. Roast for 45 mins until the lamb is starting to brown, then pour in the wine and stock. Continue cooking for 30 mins for rare (55C on a cooking thermometer), 35-40 mins for medium rare (60C) or 45 mins for cooked through (70C).
• Remove the lamb and rest for up to 30 mins. Turn oven down to 160C/140C fan/gas 3, cover the veg with foil and, while the lamb rests, put back in the oven until braised in the roasting juices. Scatter the fennel fronds over the veg, place the lamb back on top and bring the whole tin to the table to serve.