Cooking a Lamb Masala Curry the British Indian Restaurant way

I think in my 2 and a half years on Steem I've only ever done a single recipe post, which was for some chocolate chip cookies. This one is the other end of the scale, a pretty complicated process to create the most wonderful curry but once you have the basics, you can make a number of really cool curries with it. This is based on a British Indian restaurant style of cooking where they prepare a base gravy for all of their curries and then add that to various different spices to get different final results out.

Be under no illusion, this is not healthy in the slightest but it tastes bloody amazing.

I'm going to do a Lamb Masala which is an almond and coconut-based curry but

first we need to prepare a couple of things....

^{(Sorry but I dont have pictures of these bits as I already have batches made up but i'll try to make the steps as easy as possible)}

Spice mix - a generic spice mix that is used in all of my curries.

Store this in a cool dark place in an airtight container. Lasts a good 6 months. I tend to double up this recipe.

• 1 TBSP ground coriander
• 1 TBSP ground cumin
• 1.5 TBSP turmeric
• 0.5 TBSP paprika
• 1.5 TBSP madras curry powder
• 0.33 tsp garam masala

Base Gravy - a gravy that is used to add to provide a curry flavour.

This mix makes 8 batches - each batch is enough for 2 servings normally.

• Peel and roughly chop 1.5kg white onions, 1 carrot, half a green pepper, 100g potatoes.
• In a big stewing pot add 200ml of oil and cook the above along with t TBSP of garlic ginger paste and 1.5 tsp salt.
• Cook for 5 minutes and then cover and put on a low simmer for an hour
• Add 2 TBSP Spice Mix powder from above, 1tsp turmeric and 1tsp garam masala, cook for a minute
• Add 160g tomato puree, 80ml coconut milk and 2 litres of water.
• Cover and boil this for an hour, add 40g of fresh coriander and then blend with a stick blender.
• Once blended, simmer for a final 30 minutes then split into 8 batches. Freezes and keeps for 6 months.

Pre-cooked meat

You'll need a small portion of pre-cooked meat cut into 1-inch chunks. I used lamb here, enough for one serving. I just cooked it up in some lamb stock with some spices. Leftovers are perfect for adding to curry. A thanksgiving or Xmas turkey makes a wonderful curry.

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So onto the good stuff. This is how you use the base gravy and spice mix to make a wonderful curry. In my case, a Lamb Masala. All images are taken with a crappy iPhone 6

Add 30ml ghee or oil into a hot pan	Fry a piece of cassia bark for 1 minute	Fry 1.5 tsp of garlic ginger paste for 30 seconds
Add 1.25tsp spice mix, 1/3tsp garam masala, 1/3 tsp salt	Fry for 30 seconds, add a bit of gravy mix to stop burning	add 1.5 TBSP tomato puree and 4 TBSP water. Cook 30 seconds
Add the pre-cooked meat to the sauce	Add 150ml of gravy, 1.5 TBSP tandoori masala, 3 TBSP Coconut Powder, 1.5 TBSP Almond Powder	Add a small amount of red food coluring and simmer for 10 minutes, reducing by about a third
Add another 150ml gravy 2TBSP brown sugar 1.5tsp lemon juice Stir in and then cook for 5 mins without stirring	Turn the heat down and stir in 75ml single cream	Add a tablespoon of fresh coriander and cook on a low heat till thickened (10 mins or so)

I normally get some basmati rice on the go for the last 10 minutes as the sauce thickens up. Serve it all with the rice and a nice bit of naan bread and garnish with a bit of fresh coriander.

Let me know if you have a go at this. I'll be happy to post my Lamb Bhuna, Lamb Rogan Josh or other recipes if there is any interest. All can be made quickly with the same spice mix and base gravy.

Thanks for looking

Mark