Lamb bhuna

Slow-cooked curries are better when made a day or two ahead, so the flavours have time to develop.

SERVES 4 PREP 30 mins plus at least 1 hr marinating COOK 1 hr 40 mins MORE EFFORT G

600g lamb neck illet or shoulder, cut into large chunks

For the marinade

6 garlic cloves, inely grated thumb-sized piece of ginger,

peeled and inely grated

2 tbsp malt vinegar ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp sun lower oil

For the sauce

3 tbsp sun lower oil, plus a little

extra if needed

2 onions, inely chopped

10 curry leaves

2 dried chillies, or tsp chilli lakes 1 tsp each cumin seeds, mustard seeds and ground coriander ½ tsp fenugreek seeds or

ground fenugreek

1 tbsp tomato purée

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 tsp garam masala

1 To make the marinade, combine the ingredients with a large pinch of salt in a large bowl. Toss in the lamb, cover and marinate for 1 hr at room temperature, or chill overnight.

2 For the sauce, heat the oil in a flameproof casserole and fry the onions for 10 mins, stirring until soft and golden. Drizzle in more oil if the pan gets dry. Add the curry leaves and chillies and fry for a few minutes, then add the spices and cook for 5 mins more until the onions start to caramelise.

3 Tip in the lamb along with the marinade and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring, for 5 mins until the lamb browns. Add the tomato purée and cook for 1 min, then stir in the tomatoes and 100ml water. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover and cook, stirring now and then, for 1 hr 20 mins until the lamb is tender.

4 Uncover and cook for 8-10 mins more until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat, stir in the garam marsala and season. Will keep chilled for up to three days or frozen for two months.

GOOD TO KNOW iron • 2 of 5-a-day

PER SERVING 455 kcals • fat 31g • saturates 10g • carbs 12g • sugars 9g • ibre 4g • protein 31g • salt 0.5g