Since it is Lamb Lovers Month and because I love lamb, today I bring you a favorite Indian curry recipe! The hubs and I love the cookbook easy indian, by Das Sreedharan – always delicious and user-friendly! The best thing about this recipe is that you can modify it to fit your tastes and availability of ingredients.

This recipe calls for lamb, but you could use beef or chicken instead. Every year for Christmas my parents provide us with a cut and wrapped lamb (I know, an awesome gift!), so I throw the neck and ribs into the crockpot to cook, then separate the meat from the fat and bone.

Although the neck and ribs are not the meatiest parts of the lamb, they are flavorful and are great for curries and stews!

Together in a deep frying pan combine oil, garlic, peppers (I used Serrano), ginger (I usually get the packaged stuff so it lasts longer), and cook several minutes. Add the onion.

Add spices (it calls for curry leaves, since those are not readily available to me, I just use curry powder), tomatoes (I had some frozen ones from my garden I used instead of fresh ones), potatoes (I cubed a large baking potato), water, and lamb – if using raw meat. Since I used previously cooked meat, I just let the vegetables and spices simmer without the meat for a bit.

When the potatoes are nearly tender add the lamb and let simmer for several minutes until the flavors combine.

I like to serve this with Naan Bread or over rice. Yum!

Spicy Lamb and Potato Curry

Serves 4-6

5 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I usually never use this much)
1 inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped (pre-packed works too)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (a big fan of garlic, so I add more)
2 green chillies, chopped (add more for extra spice)
15 curry leaves (can substitute with curry powder)
1 large or 2 small onions, peeled and sliced
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground chili powder
3 tomatoes, sliced
14 ounces boneless lamb, cubed
7 ounces baby new potatoes, scrubbed (if using large potatoes, cube them)
1 tsp. mustard seeds (I substituted dry mustard)

1. Heat 4 Tbsp. oil in saucepan. Add ginger, garlic, chilies, and 5 curry leaves. Sauté for 3 minutes or until the ginger and garlic are golden brown. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes until lightly browned.
2. Stir in ground coriander, turmeric, and chili powder, mix well. Add tomatoes, lamb, and 14 ounces water. Simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Stir in potatoes and cook for 15 minutes, or until lamb is cooked and potatoes are tender.
4. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. oil in small frying pan. Add the mustard seeds, when they start to pop add the remaining 10 curry leaves and stir well. Pour mustard seed/curry leaf mixture over the lamb mixture, stir briefly, remove pan from heat.
5. Serve with Malabar parathas or other Indian fry bread.

Enjoy!