Having grown up in the American Southwest where the delights of Mexican cuisine prevail, Indian fare remained foreign to me until I visited family in New York City in 2002. It was there my cousin Tina treated me to dinner, and when I experienced my first curry. However, it would take seven years until I experienced it again, and learned to enjoy it on a somewhat regular basis, especially living in the UK. Inspired by my boyfriend’s love of Indian food and the lovely dishes created by my Indian colleagues, my foray into Indian cuisine includes an ever-expanding portfolio of flavorful curries. At present, my focus has primarily been mastering saag dishes (I love spinach!). Moreover, lamb saag is probably my favourite Indian dish thus far.

In most cases, many of the saags I have ordered in Indian restaurants were drowned in oil. This lamb saag is still rich is flavour with a bit of kick, without the excess oil that is bound to clog your arteries.

Khaana khao maza uthao!

Serves 2, but can be easily doubled to serve 4

Active prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 green chilli, deseeded (optional for less heat) and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 tbsp oil (for frying)
• 300-400g diced lamb (shoulder or leg, your choice)
• 1 tsp coriander
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 4 whole cardamom pods
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 150ml vegetable stock (made from cube)
• 160g spinach, washed and chopped
• fresh coriander for garnish (optional)

Approach

1. Place garlic, chilli and onion into a food processor and blitz into a purée.

2. Combine all the spices into a mortar and pestle, to crush spices together and break open the pods. Remove pod shells.

3. Heat oil in a saucepan. Cook lamb in oil until browned on all sides, and set aside in a bowl.

4. In the same saucepan, heat the crushed spice blend for a couple minutes (the kitchen will smell absolutely divine).

5. Add the purée from the food processor into the saucepan and cook for a couple more minutes.

6. Add the lamb back into the saucepan, along with the tomatoes and vegetable stock. Stir, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.

7. Add spinach to the saucepan, and stir until it is completely incorporated. Let simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Lamb saag should be ready when the lamb is tenderly cooked.

8. Serve with garlic naan or basmati rice, garnish with fresh coriander, and enjoy!