Lamb
Meatball Curry
Mmm. Even sitting to write about this dish makes my mouth
water. My nose fills with the rich tangy smell of the spicy yoghurt sauce,
enriched with the ginger and onion. It is by far my favourite dish. And
such good value, both in time and cash!. One work of warning. Lamb mince
can be frustratingly hard to find. Supermarkets in particular stock it
irregularly. When you do find it, buy double, and keep half in the freezer.
Serves 2
You will need
Half pound lamb mince
1 Red onion
A chunk of ginger, a bit bigger than your thumb
Two or three cloves of garlic
Some curry paste (Sharwoods are nice)
A tub of Greek Yoghurt Rice
Some fresh parsley
Lime to squeeze
1. Chop the onion, skin and grate the ginger and crush the garlic.
2. Fry the mix in a frying pan, until the onion starts to go translucent.
Add a teaspoon of the curry paste.
3. Take the pan off the heat, and put on a saucepan of water to
boil.
4. Add a tablespoon of greek yoghurt to the lamb mince. Mush it
in. Then add a little less than half the frying pan's contents to the
lamb mince. Mix it up. Don't be sqeamish, use your hands.
5. Put the pan back on a middling heat. Dampen your hands and then
make about 8 little meatballs, plopping them into the pan from whatever
height gives them a shape that pleases you.
6. Make sure you haven't forgotten to put on the rice, as I so
often realise I have done at this stage.
7. When you've browned the meatballs all over, add the rest of
the Greek Yoghurt. Simmering, it will mix with the lamb fat and the onion
mixture to produce an incomparable sauce.
8. Chop the parsley, serve the rice with the sauce over it (maybe
in lovely big bowls) and sprinkle the fresh greenery over the top.
9. As a last touch, squeeze half a lime or so over the dish, to
cut the creaminess of the sauce.
by
Simon McGarr
14th July 2001
UPDATE:
After 10 years testing, I'd suggest changing some of the details of this dish. Firstly, lose Greek Yoghurt and use Natural Yoghurt. It is easier to find and produces a better sauce.
Also, add lots and lots of frozen peas very near the end of cooking process. Just long enough for them to be still popping in your mouth when you eat them. It adds healthy greenery and makes the whole thing tastier.
Finally, forget parsley. Fresh Coriander leaves are the way to go here. Ini fact, parsley is terrible. I don't know what I was thinking. Parsley!
And, if you double up on the quanties, you can put the other half into the freezer for another day (it tastes better the 2nd time round) or, you know, you could feed 4 people instead of two.
Simon McGarr
25th October 2010