Mary Berry’s Lamb Rogan Curry
Inspired by the Persian curry, Mary Berry's lamb rogan uses a homemade and deeply flavourful curry paste.
From the book
Love to Cook
120 recipes from the nation's favourite cook
Featuring all of the recipes from the accompanying BBC2 series
Celebrating fuss-free cooking and the ingredients and flavours Mary loves
Introduction
This is a gentle, full-flavoured curry with Persian origins. It is worth grinding your own cardamom for an authentic flavour and mixing your own spices. If time is short, use a good-quality, shop-bought medium curry powder – about 1–2 tablespoons.
Ingredients
| For the curry paste: | |
|---|---|
| 10 | green cardamom pods |
| ¼ tsp | ground cloves |
| 1 tbsp | ground coriander |
| 1 tbsp | ground cumin |
| 1 tbsp | paprika |
| 2 tsp | ground turmeric |
| 1 tbsp | garam marsala |
| 4 tbsp | tomato purée |
| 1 tbsp | sunflower oil |
| For the curry: | |
| 1 tbsp | sunflower oil |
| 1kg (2¼lb) | boneless leg of lamb, cut into 2cm (¾in) cubes |
| 2 | large onions, sliced |
| 3 | garlic cloves, crushed |
| 1 | red chilli, deseeded and diced |
| 450ml (¾ pint) | lamb or beef stock |
| 2 | cinnamon sticks |
| 3 | bay leaves |
| 1 tbsp | light muscovado sugar |
| 150g (5oz) | full-fat Greek yoghurt |
| Small bunch of | coriander, chopped |
Essential kit
You will need: a pestle and mortar.
Method
Preheat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/Gas 2.
First make the curry paste. Place the cardamom pods in a small bag. Bash the pods with a rolling pin to release the seeds. Place the seeds in a pestle and mortar and grind to make a fine powder. Tip into a bowl, add the remaining paste ingredients and mix to a paste.
Heat the oil in a large ovenproof frying pan or flameproof casserole over a high heat. Add the lamb cubes and brown in two batches to seal. Remove the lamb with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the onions to the dish and fry for a few minutes. Add the garlic and chilli and fry for a few seconds. Return the lamb to the dish, add the curry paste and fry for a few minutes – this brings out the flavours. Pour in the stock, and add the cinnamon, bay leaves and sugar. Season with salt and black pepper, cover with a lid, bring up to the boil and transfer to the oven for about 1½ hours, or until tender.
Just before serving, add the yoghurt and stir until smooth. Remove the cinnamon and bay leaves, check the seasoning and sprinkle with the coriander. Serve with rice.
Mary’s tips:
Can be made up to 2 days ahead.
Freezes well without the yoghurt.
