Lamb Curry with Tomato

One of the things I love about being here is being able to buy my food from people who know what they're doing. I need lamb for curry, so I go see my butcher. I tell him what I'm making and how many people I'm serving (although he has an exaggerated notion of what a serving is), and he fixes it up for me. In this case, he went to the big fridge in the back, pulled out a giant piece of meat, and proceeded to sharpen his knife and cut and trim and give me a beautiful package of lamb stew meat.

And so I made this curry. It's very easy, and besides the lamb, you probably have all the ingredients sitting around your kitchen. And for Julia, I set aside some sauce and cooked it with potatoes and peas and she said it was yummy.

This recipe comes from the Joy of Cooking, and it's really worth making.

Lamb Curry with Tomato

2-3 T. vegetable oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 t. salt

1 large clove garlic, minced

1-1/2 t. grated fresh ginger

2 t. cumin

2 t. coriander

1 t. turmeric

1/2 t. cayenne

1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes

1-1/2 lb. lamb stew meat, in 1-inch chunks

1 c. frozen peas

2 T. chopped cilantro

In a large covered skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion and salt until it starts to turn brown. Add the garlic, ginger, and spices and stir for a minute, or until fragrant. Add half the tomatoes and the meat, stir, and let cook down for just a bit. Then add the rest of the tomatoes, bring to a boil, then cover and turn down the heat. Simmer for about 2 hours. If you think the sauce is not thick enough, uncover the curry during the last half hour or so. About 5 minutes before you want to serve the curry, add the peas. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice and/or naan and maybe some chutney.