Chocolate and Red Wine Lamb Curry with Pea Masala

I realize that I haven’t been sharing many new recipes as of late.  It’s not that I haven’t been cooking… my husband will attest that the kitchen has been just as messy as usual.  I’ve just given myself the liberty to fall back on some old favorites and repeat some new discoveries.  I’ve made Nomad Salad… twice.  Seafood Paella… twice.   And more than a couple delicious homemade pizzas…

I’ve also been enjoying some good old-fashioned recipeless cooking.

I was burnt out from all the searching and planning and posting and I knew I needed a break.  Well, now that I’ve had said break I’m back to trying fun new recipes… in fact I have a bit of a back log of them that I haven’t had the chance to share with you with the hoopla that has been this past week (I finally almost have my voice back).

I’m going to start with this very non-traditional lamb curry.  We had our dear friends Emily and Alex over Saturday night to catch up, belatedly share Christmas gifts and even more belatedly show off our new digs.  I’d actually already picked out another recipe when I stumbled upon this one.  Luckily Emily and Alex are easy to cook for, in the sense that they don’t seem to have any limitations for what you can serve them, as long as it doesn’t suck (I added that last part).  Can I just give a quick shout out and say how much the cook loves people who don’t put limitations on what she can make?  It makes cooking for you so much more fun.  But maybe I’ll save that thought for another post.  Regardless, I wasn’t afraid that they’d show up, hear we were having lamb, start fondly reminiscing about a childhood field trip to the petting zoo and request only peas.  Thank goodness, because they would have been missing out.  Although non-traditional, the flavors in the curry went really well together.  Oh, and the peas would have been pretty damn spicy on their own.

Chocolate and Red Wine Lamb Curry

Adapted from Tapas-tree

Prep time: 30 mins   Total time: 2.5 hours

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs lamb shoulder washed, fat-trimmed and cut into 2 inch cubes.
• 1 cup red wine
•  4 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 4-5 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tsp ginger, finely chopped
• 3 green chillies, deseeded and diced
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• salt/pepper
• olive oil

Directions:

1. In a bowl mix together the lamb pieces, coriander powder, flour, and a dash of salt and pepper
2. Heat up 3-4 tbsp of oil in a cast iron or other heavy-bottomed pan on high/medium-high heat.  Once the oil starts smoking, add the lamb chunks one at a time.  Brown all of the chunks and transfer to a plate. Set aside.
   
3. In a large stew pot or dutch oven, heat up 1-2 tbsp of oil on medium heat.  Saute the onion, garlic and ginger for 4-5 mins until soft.  Add the cumin and garam masala and fry for 30 seconds.
4. Add the chocolate chips, diced tomatoes, and green chillies.  Stir to combine being careful not to let the chocolate burn.  Now add the browned lamb and fry for a minute.
5. De-glaze the pan with wine for 1-2 minutes.  Add  about 2 cups water until the meat is covered.  Add a tsp of salt and pepper and the bay leaf.
6. Turn the heat down to medium-low and a lid.  Simmer for 2 hours. Before serving, taste for seasoning and add more salt/pepper as necessary.  Add flour to thicken, as necessary. Serve with Jasmine rice or naan!

Serves 5-6

Pea Masala

Adapted from Glow Kitchen

• 2 cups frozen peas
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne

In a medium saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat.  Cook the onions seasoned with salt and pepper until translucent, then add the tomatoes.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add the spices to the saucepan and mix until thoroughly combined.  Add the frozen peas and stir. Cook for another 8-10 minutes, or until the peas have thawed and cooked until soft.