Moroccan-Indian Lamb Stew

Yes, that's a tupperware container in the photo. Why? Well, because this stew smelled so good I didn't even think about taking a photo, and dove right in. So, hmm, yes, the photo is of my leftovers. Leftovers I plan to eat for lunch in about two hours, and I can't wait!

This stew was seriously delicious. The recipe is from American Masala, a wonderful book that I've told you about. (The author, Suvir Saran, has a blog by the way!) He just calls it Morockan-Style Lamb, but I think it's a great crossover between Morockan and Indian cooking. Bearing in mind that Sweden is pretty far from both of those countries, of course!

This is the second thing I'm making from that book and it's absolutely brilliant. I've omitted a few things though - didn't have any mace, for example - and switched a few other spices, but then again, that's pretty much my style of cooking. I'm rather relaxed about reading recipes, and so should you be. Don't follow this to the letter unless you want to!

And don't worry about the long list of ingredients. Most of it is spices, and it's fast to put together. The recipe states that it serves 8 - and I'm sure it would, if you're serving anything with it like rice or cous-cous, or any other dishes. For us, it was a great dinner for four accompanied by cornbread, and it made the leftovers you see above.

Moroccan-Indian Lamb Stew
Serves 5-6

1 kg lamb, in large dice - boneless
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp flaky sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
the juice of 1/2 lime

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds (or 6 whole green pods)
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp chili flakes (or two small whole dried chilies, or 1/2 tsp sambal oelek)
1/4 tsp whole black pepper
4-5 cm fresh ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans of chickpeas, well rinsed and drained
5 parsnips, peeled and cut into large dice
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thickly
2 medium potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced thickly
2 red onions, cut into wedges
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp flaky sea salt
500 ml (2 cups) diced tomatoes
700 ml water

To serve:
Fresh coriander
lime wedges
crème fraîche

Start by mixing cumin, cayenne, turmeric, salt and black pepper with the lime juice and the lamb. The lamb should be well coated. Place in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes, but no more than 3 hours.

In a large pot, melt the butter and the oil, and add cardamom, cinnamon, chili flakes and whole black pepper. Let it fry on medium heat for a few minutes, then add the ginger and fry until it starts to brown - about a minute or two.

Add the lamb, and stir well. Fry until lamb starts to brown - five minutes or so.

Mash about 100 ml of the chickpeas - I used a stick blender - and set aside. Add the rest of the chickpeas to the pot with the turnips, carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic. Let it fry for ten minutes.

Add the coriander, cayenne, ground ginger and salt. Fry for five more minutes. The pot should look pretty dry now.

Add the tomatoes, the mashed chickpeas and all the water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Let it simmer for at least two hours, until everything is very tender. Stir every half hour. Serve with fresh coriander, lime wedges and a dollop of crème fraîche.

Recipe in Swedish:
Marockansk-indisk lammgryta