What exactly does “just over an hour” mean? Well, the actual stewing takes an hour. But before the stewing begins, you’ll need to brown the lamb first. And, before you can do that, the lamb has to be seasoned and left to marinate overnight.
And what is the lamb seasoned with? Ah, that’s my little trick in this version of lamb curry. I use lemon pepper seasoning. Why? Because the zestiness and aroma heighten the sweet creaminess of the coconut cream in which the lamb stews.
So, cut your lamb into serving-size pieces, rinse, dry with a kitchen towel, place in a bowl, add lemon pepper seasoning and mix throughly. Cover the bowl tightly, put it in the fridge and leave the lamb to marinate overnight.
The next day, start making the lamb curry by browning the meat. Because lamb is quite fatty, you really do not need a lot of oil to brown the meat. Just spray the pot with oil, spread the marinated lamb in a single layer, leave until the lamb starts to render fat then turn the meat pieces to brown all sides.
Now, add your spices. Shallots, ginger and chili are the most basic but I like to throw in bits of bell pepper too. Toss everything together and cook until the vegetables start to soften before adding your curry powder and, optionally, a few pinches of chili flakes.
Toss until every piece of meat is coated with the curry powder and chili flakes. Add carrot cubes and pour in coconut cream. Because the lamb is already seasoned, you will need to go easy with the addition of fish sauce (or salt, if that’s your preference) to season the sauce.
When the coconut cream sauce comes to a simmer, cover the pot tightly, set the heat to low and stew the lamb for an hour. That should be long enough. Now taste the sauce, adjust the seasonings, if needed, then scatter sweet peas over the meat. Leave to cook for a minute before serving your lamb curry.
One-pot lamb and vegetable curry
Ingredients
- 800 grams lamb short ribs - cut between the bones
- 2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning
- oil
- 1 two-inch knob ginger - peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 shallots - peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 large bell pepper - deseeded and roughly chopped
- 2 finger chilies - sliced
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 large carrot - peeled and cut into one-inch cubes
- 2 generous pinches chili flakes
- 2 cups coconut cream
- fish sauce - to taste
- ½ cup sweet peas - if frozen, no need to thaw
- sliced scallions - to garnish
Instructions
- Rinse and dry the lamb, add the lemon pepper seasoning and mix it into the meat.
- Marinate the lamb in a covered bowl in the fridge overnight.
- Heat a heavy pot and spray (or brush) with oil.
- Spread the marinated lamb in the pot and brown over high heat, turning the pieces over for even browning.
- Add the ginger, chilies, bell pepper and shallots. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables start to soften.
- Stir in the carrot cubes.
- Pour in the coconut cream and drizzle in about a tablespoon of fish sauce (you can add more later, if needed).
- Bring to a simmer, cover the pot, lower the heat and leave the lamb and vegetables to cook for an hour.
- Taste the sauce and add more fish sauce if it's too bland for you.
- Scatter the peas over the meat, leave for a minute then turn the heat off.
- Ladle the lamb curry into a serving bowl or individual bowls, garnish with scallions and serve.
