LAMB & CHICKPEA CURRY

I have made and eaten many curry dishes in my life, but never had anything like this. This Lamb & Chickpea Curry recipe is adapted from Ina Garden ‘Cook Like a Pro’ cookbook and it is amazing. Like she said “The flavor is so complex”,  it’s sweet and spicy and less ‘curry-ey’ than other curries I’ve had. There are many ingredients but call me crazy, I have most of them in my pantry. You can call me spice lady, kind of like a cat lady ha! All I needed was fresh stuff like lamb shoulder, carrots, celery and golden raisins. I think it would be great with beef, too, if lamb is absolutely unavailable. You can find the long list of spices in my recipe card on the bottom of this page but like Ina said “Don’t let it scare you, it’s really worth it”.

My husband’s not a big fan of curry but he loved this Lamb and Chickpea curry. When I was mixing all the spices, he came over and asked what I’m cooking so I told him lamb stew. ha ha! I didn’t want to tell him it’s a curry dish. Just wanted to see how he liked it, and he did.

There are unusual ingredients like brown sugar, maple syrup, tomato paste, thyme, and rosemary. They are unusual to me who makes mostly Thai curry like Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Coconut Curry, Thai Massaman Curry, Phad Prik King (Thai Red Curry Stir-fried Green Beans, Red Curry Chicken with Bamboo Shoots and Green Curry Chicken with Hearts of Palm.

A little voice in my head said, ‘this is odd’. But the voice in my stomach said ‘you only live once and I’m hungry so just try it!’. You too should get a little crazy and put maple syrup in your curry! ha ha ha

Let’s cook some food!

In a large bowl, mix all the dry spices and herbs: ¼ cup curry powder, 2 tablespoons salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon minced rosemary, 1 teaspoon of thyme, ½ teaspoon ground fennel seeds and ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional).

Add the lamb into the seasonings, toss well. Set aside for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prep the carrots and celery. Cut them into ½-inch pieces.

Heat the oil in a large heavy bottom pot like a Dutch Oven, over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger, cook until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.

Add the lamb and cook for 10-15 minutes, until evenly browned. Add white wine and chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pot.

Add the coconut milk, tomato paste, brown sugar, maple syrup and harissa.

Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partially covered for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

Add the carrots, celery, raisins, chickpeas, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Raise the heat to medium. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partially covered for about 30 minutes.

Serve hot with naan bread or rice with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.

Enjoy! I really hope you give this Lamb & Chickpea Curry a try. It’s so good and totally worth the wait and please let me know how it goes. The recipe card and comment box are below.

5.0 from 1 reviews

LAMB & CHICKPEA CURRY

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

100 mins

Total time

1 hour 50 mins

 

Author: Mink adapted from Ina Garten's 1770 House Lamb & Chickpea Curry

Recipe type: Curry

Cuisine: American Indian

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. boneless lamb shoulder, 1-inch diced, gristle and fat removed
• ¼ cup curry powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• ½ teaspoon ground fennel seeds
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• salt
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 (13.5 oz.) can coconut milk
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup tomato paste
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons harissa
• 4 carrots, ½- inch diced
• 2 celery stalks, ½- inch diced
• ½ cup golden raisins
• 4 cups canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry spices and herbs: curry powder, 2 tablespoons salt, paprika, cumin, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, ground fennel seeds and cayenne pepper (optional).
2. Add the lamb into the seasonings, toss well. Set aside for 15 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large heavy bottom pot like a Dutch Oven, over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger, cook until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
4. Add the lamb and cook for 10-15 minutes, until evenly browned. Add white wine and chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pot.
5. Add the coconut milk, tomato paste, brown sugar, maple syrup and harissa. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partially covered for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
6. Add the carrots, celery, raisins, chickpeas, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Raise the heat to medium. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partially covered for about 30 minutes.
7. Serve hot with naan bread or rice with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Notes

Ina uses ½ cup of dark brown sugar, but I think it's too sweet, so I cut back to ¼ cup. Also, cut back on the oil from ½ cup to ¼ cup. I used vegetable instead of olive oil. Last but not least, I like spicy food, so I added ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper into the spice mix.

3.5.3251