Kashmiri-style rich lamb curry

If you enjoy a tasty Indian dish, this dark lamb curry cooked in Kashmiri style won’t disappoint. This particular style of curry has a really deep burnished flavour and you’ll want to serve it with a side of vegetables, a lentil daal or with warmed naan bread.

For a twist, try what I did and remove the lamb meat from the bones after cooking and coarsely chop it, before returning the meat to the sauce. This will give you greater flexibility to create a pie or another dish from the leftovers (if there are any).

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Greek-style yoghurt
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 4 lamb shanks (roughly 300g each), trimmed
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 brown onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 8 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder, or to taste
• 400g can diced tomatoes

Method

1. Place yoghurt, ginger, garlic and garam masala in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Stir until well combined.
2. Add lamb shanks and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight to marinate.
3. Preheat oven to 170C/150C fan-forced. Heat oil in a flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt, bay leaves and cardamom. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the onion is golden.
4. Stir ground coriander, paprika and chilli powder into onion mixture. Stir in tomatoes and 250ml water. Remove lamb shanks from the marinade and add to tomato mixture. Discard remaining marinade.
5. Cover and bake for 3 hours or until lamb is so tender the meat is falling off the bones. Carefully transfer lamb shanks to a serving platter. Remove lamb meat from the bones.
6. Using a large spoon, skim and discard the fat from the top of the curry sauce. Return meat to the sauce and cover with sauce before serving.