LAMB CURRY

My sister is getting married this weekend so my parents arrived today and were here in time for supper.  I hastily took out some lamb stew meat from the freezer this morning, hoping it would thaw in time to make a stew.  It was still a wee bit frozen when I started to make this meal, but it turned out just great anyway.  It is pretty hard to screw up a stew.
     Our freezer has been restocked with lamb from Bruce Family Farms in anticipation of a post wedding BBQ we are hosting.  We originally wanted a whole lamb, but apparently that is unavailable locally until this summer.  Anyway, so the stew meat was up for grabs and rather than my usual Irish Lamb Stew I decided to go Indian with a side of brown basmati rice.  My favorite part of this meal, aside from the big chunks of lamb, was the fresh spinach salad I made that had Indian spiced cashews that I sprinkled in.  I think we need a batch of those kicking around for snacking.

LAMB CURRY

2 pounds organic lamb stew meat (with bones)

30 g fresh ginger

5 cloves organic garlic, peeled

1 can organic crushed tomatoes

1 Tbsp organic coconut oil

1 Tbsp organic sunflower oil

2 organic onions, peeled and chopped

2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp organic ground cumin

1 tsp organic coriander

1 tsp organic paprika

1/2 tsp turmeric

fresh organic black pepper, ground

5 organic potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 organic carrots, chopped

1 cup organic peas

fresh organic cilantro, chopped

Method:  In the bowl of a food processor, puree the ginger and garlic.  Heat the oils in a large saucepan over medium heat and brown the meat in two or three batches.  Remove from pan and set aside, then saute the onion and salt until translucent.  Stir in cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric,  pepper, garlic and ginger, saute for one minute.  Add the tomato, lamb, potatoes and carrots.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat, cooking gently for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.  If it gets too dry add some water.  At the end of cooking stir in cilantro.  Check for saltiness and add more if necessary.  Serve with steamed basmati rice,  raita and mango chutney.

SPINACH SALAD with Spiced Cashews, Radish and Cilantro

1/2 pound organic spinach

4 organic radish, sliced

1/2 cup organic cilantro, ripped

1 cup organic cucumber, sliced

1 cup organic cashews

1/2 tsp organic cumin powder

1/2 tsp organic coriander powder

1/2 tsp organic turmeric powder

sea salt

drizzle of organic sesame oil

e.v olive oil

1/2 organic lemon, juiced

organic pepper

Method:  Toss the cashews in the cumin, coriander, turmeric, pinch of sea salt and sesame oil.  Heat a small cast iron skillet over medium heat and then saute the nuts, stirring until they start to brown only slightly.  Lower heat if necessary to prevent scorching.  Remove from heat and set aside.

     In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, radish, cucumber and cilantro.  Drizzle with some olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Add cooled nuts and toss.