Name: Lamb & mango curry
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2 h 45 min
Total time: 2 h 55 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 onions quartered; thumb-sized piece ginger peeled and roughly chopped; 5 garlic cloves; 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 heaped tsp turmeric (see tip, below); 2 heaped tsp ground cumin; 2 heaped tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp mild chilli powder; 5 cardamom pods; 2 tbsp tomato purée; 800g trimmed lamb shoulder, cubed; 400g can reduced-fat coconut milk (save 2 tbsp for serving); 200g chopped tomato from a can; 2 ripe mangoes sliced; handful coriander; rice, chutneys and pickle of your choice

2 onions
quartered
thumb-sized piece ginger
peeled and roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 heaped tsp turmeric
(see tip, below)
2 heaped tsp ground cumin
2 heaped tsp ground coriander
1 tsp mild chilli powder
5 cardamom pods
2 tbsp tomato purée
800g trimmed lamb
shoulder, cubed
400g can reduced-fat coconut milk
(save 2 tbsp for serving)
200g chopped tomato
from a can
2 ripe mangoes
sliced

To serve

handful coriander
rice, chutneys and pickle
of your choice

Method

step 1
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Put the onions, ginger and garlic in a food processor and blitz to a paste. If you don’t have a processor, just chop very finely. Heat the oil in a deep flameproof casserole dish and fry the paste for 10 mins. Add some salt, the spices and tomato purée, then fry for 2-3 mins more until aromatic.
step 2
Stir in the lamb and cook for a few mins until it changes colour all over – it doesn’t need to brown. Tip in the coconut milk, tomatoes and 100ml water, and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid, leaving a gap for some steam to escape, and transfer to the oven for 1½ hrs.
step 3
Stir in half the mangoes, and cook for 1 hr more until the lamb is melting and tender. When it’s ready, let the curry sit for 10 mins, then spoon off any excess fat from the top. Partly stir in the remaining mangoes, scatter with the coriander and drizzle with the reserved coconut milk. Serve with rice, chutneys and pickles of your choice.