Ben loves any sort of curry. But his eyes light up the most for Indian curry. For my bridal shower, my friend Mabelle bought me this cookbook I’ve been eyeing for the longest time–How to Cook Everything, the Basics by Mark Bittman. The book is so awesome because every single recipe has at least 3-5 pictures of what the dish should look like throughout the process. And it explains the reasoning behind why you add certain ingredients or the science behind what happens. Highly recommended.

The book has a recipe for lamb curry that I thought Ben would like. The ingredients didn’t look too daunting, so I thought I would give it a try.

Lamb Curry (recipe from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, the Basics)

Time: 1.5-2.5 hours, mostly unattended

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 pounds boneless or 3 pounds bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
• S&P
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger (or 1 teaspoon ground)
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock (or water)
• 1/2 cup yogurt

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When hot, add the meat and sprinkle with S&P. Cook and adjust the pieces as needed so the meat doesn’t burn until it’s nicely brown on all sides, 10-20 minutes. After the meat is brown, set aside in a bowl.

Add the onion and cook for 3-5 minutes until its soft. Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, and cayenne pepper and stir for 1 minute. Stir in the stock, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the browned meat. The braising liquid should come about halfway up to the sides of the meat; if not, add more stock or water. Raise the heat and bring to a boil; then lower it so the mixture barely bubbles.

Cover and cook, stirring every 30 minutes and adding liquid if necessary. Cook covered for at least 45 minutes, 90 if possible. Remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt. The curry will turn a few shades lighter–it’s okay if the yogurt curdles. Serve immediately over rice. I made a saffron rice using basmati rice. =)

Though it didn’t really taste like the Indian curries I’ve had before, the curry was still very good, with just the right amount of kick. Plus, the lamb was soooo tender and just melted in your mouth. Will probably begin adding this to my usual repertoire!