Lamb and lentil curry (dahl gosht)

This curry is Gujarati comfort food. The lentils dissolve into the sauce giving it a thick, mellow texture and the lamb melts in the mouth. The "Can do lamb curry" posted previously is a Northern Indian dish and has quite a different flavour. I would be interested to know which dish you prefer.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 110g of toor dahl
• 500g of lamb in 1 inch cubes – I prefer neck fillet but leg or shoulder is fine.
• 1 medium onion – chopped coarsely
• 400g of chopped tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons of red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 3 teaspoons of coriander-cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 tablespoon of light tasting vegetable oil
• 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
• 1 cm square piece of root ginger - peeled and grated
• 1 litre of water – boiling
• 2-3 large floury potatoes – peeled and chopped into largish chunks
• 1 ½ teaspoons of garam masala
• 1 handful of chopped coriander

Note: You’ll probably have to pick up the toor dahl from an Indian grocery shop. It has lots of other names: Split pigeon peas (English), tuver dahl (Gujarati), tuvaram paruppu (Tamil). If you have a choice between oily or un-oily then go for oily but don’t worry too much.

Method

1. Put the dahl in a bowl and cover with water. Leave to soak for 30 minutes.
2. Wash the lamb and place in a large stockpot along with the onions, tomatoes, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander-cumin powder, salt, vegetable oil, garlic and root ginger.
3. Drain the dahl and add it to the pot. Mix everything together and then cook on a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the boiling water and put the lid on the pot. Let everything simmer until the dahl has melted into the sauce. This will take approximately 60 minutes.
5. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add more salt or chilli if required.
6. Add the potatoes and continue to cook the dish until the lamb is tender and the potatoes have a very soft texture – probably another 1.5 hours.  Remove the lid of the pot for the final 30 minutes to make it thicker.  However stir regularly during this time.  If you find that the sauce has thickened enough for your tastes then put the lid back on for the remaining cooking time.
7. Just before serving add the garam masala and coriander.
8. Serve with naan bread and salad.