Last Sunday after a day of long walks with friends, we made a Sunday roast lamb – the perfect end to a slow and relaxed weekend. We don’t often eat meat, but when we do, we try not to let any of it go to waste. I picked at the bones until the bones were clean, and managed to fill a whole bowl full of the scraps!
If I put it back in the fridge we would probably have forgotten about it until it was too late, so I got cooking straight away and made a big batch of lamb curry – using chickpeas to flesh it out a bit more. It was perfect as a packed lunch the next day, and if there’s enough left, it saves cooking on a midweek night too!
With a bit of lemongrass and ginger, this lamb curry is fragrant and delicious, plus it’s incredibly easy and far tastier and healthier than a takeaway. Bulking it out with chickpeas or beans is also a great way to make it go further and save money.
To make this lamb curry, you will need:
- 1 finger of ginger, peeled
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 sticks of lemongrass, chopped
- 5 – 8 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely chopped
- 1 – 3 chillies,deseeded and sliced
- 1 tablespoon of curry powder
- 1 heaped teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 heaped teaspoon of ground coriander (optional)
- 1 heaped teaspoon of ground cumin or cumin seeds
- 1 heaped teaspoon of ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
- As much roast lamb as you’ve got
- 1 tin of chickpeas
- 1 tin of light coconut milk
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 small bunch of coriander (optional), stalks finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped
- sesame oil or rapeseed oil
- Rice, to serve
- Raita, to serve (you can make this with yoghurt and mint sauce!)
Method:
1. Start by heating up some oil in a pan (I used sesame oil as I love the flavour, but rapeseed oil is lovely too) on a low heat, and add the chopped onions, pressed garlic, chopped lemongrass, chopped chillies, and grate in the ginger.
2. Add all of the spices to make a brown curry paste, then add a splash of coconut milk to loosen it up.
3. Add the lamb and stir it around, letting all the flavours combine. Then add the chickpeas and a vegetable stock cube. When the curry starts looking a little thirsty, add more coconut milk.
4. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat and simmer gently for around 30 minutes (longer if the lamb isn’t cooked yet!), occasionally stirring and scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan. If you run out of coconut milk and the curry starts looking dry, just add a splash of water or some vegetable stock.
5. Have a taste and season to perfection, then tear the coriander leaves over the top (if you like coriander) and serve with rice and homemade raita. Delicious!!
