I remember the day I fell in love with curry. It was Monday 22nd September 1997 – my first day at University in Bradford. I’d had English Mum Curry before, that 1980s sultana-ed creation of leftover chicken and curry powder but this, thankfully, was something quite different.
It was a chicken dhansak from the Shezan restaurant on Great Horton Road. I remember the waiter asking whether I wanted rice or something he called ‘chapattis’. I plumped for the latter. He could have brought me a pile of judges’ wigs and I wouldn’t have questioned it. Thankfully he didn’t, as that wouldn’t have worked with the cumin in the sauce.
Looking back, that dhansak was about as authentic as a shoddily blacked-up Uri Geller, miming to I Shot The Sheriff (the Eric Clapton version) with a broken tennis racket for a guitar. That’s right: it had pineapple in it. Nonetheless, at the time it was a stuff of wonderment. Sour, sweet, spicy and thick with lentils, that meal changed my life. From that day to this, I have had an unhealthy obsession with eating and making curry.
Karahi Lamb with Chickpeas and Roasted Cumin
If you’ve ever been to one of the quality Pakistani eateries in the UK (places like Tayyabs and Lahore Kebab House in London) you’ll be familiar with the joys of karahi lamb: a dry, rich, dark curry cooked in a wok. I have eaten more than a few of these in my time, and over the years have developed my own version. Here it is.
You’ll need:
700 grams of boneless lamb shoulder cut into chunks.
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
1 small bulb of garlic, pureed.
1 tin of tomatoes, drained of juice and pureed.
2 teaspoons of whole cumin seeds.
2 teaspoons of ground coriander seeds.
1/4 of a teaspoon of turmeric.
1 teaspoon ground black pepper.
1 teaspoon of sea salt or 1/2 a teaspoon of table salt.
1/2 teaspoon of chilli power.
2 bay leaves.
1 tin of chickpeas, drained.
2 tablespoons of finely chopped coriander leaf.
First, roast your cumin seeds in a hot, dry pan until they smell like spicy toast. Shake into a pestle and mortar, grind and set aside.
Fry the garlic paste in hot vegetable oil for two minutes and then add the lamb pieces. Stir-fry over high heat until the lamb is brown.
Now drop in the ground coriander, turmeric, pepper, salt, chilli and bay leaves and mix. Keep mixing and frying for two minutes, then add the drained, pureed tomatoes, the chickpeas, and a pint of water.
Simmer on a low heat until the lamb is tender, which could be up to an hour. If within that time it looks like it might catch on the pan, add more water. Once the lamb is soft keep simmering until you have quite a dry sauce – one that just coats the lamb and chickpeas.
Take the wok off the heat, stir in the roasted cumin power, sprinkle with the chopped coriander leaves and serve with a stack of warmed shop-bought chapattis. Or if you prefer – a pile of judges’ wigs.
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