Sri Lankan Black Lamb Curry

Our students trade off on cooking duties for the farm residents, and there have been some incredibly delicious meals over the years. It is especially fun when the international students share recipes from home. Bhagya Rajapakshe, who is from Sri Lanka, served this beautiful meal with watermelon drink, chapati and salad.

Sri Lankan Black Lamb Curry

Ingredients

2 pounds of bite-sized chunks of lamb stew meat ( 2 packages of Deck Family Farm 1 pound Lamb Stew Meat)

200ml coconut milk

2 red dried chillies (crushed)

1 teaspoon of fenugreek

4 cardamom pods

3 cloves

1 teaspoon of coriander seeds

A teaspoon of black peppercorns

1 inch of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 yellow onion sliced

20 curry leaves

A generous pinch of salt

Instructions

First up is making the dry roasted curry mix

1. Set a small heavy frying pan on a low heat

2. Add in the whole dry spices and wait for the fragrance to fill the room

3. Take the spices off the heat and pour into a mortar and pestle

4. Crush the spices into a fine(ish) powder, discarding the husks of the cardamom pods

5. Pour the spices into a large bowl

6. Add the finely chopped ginger and garlic

7. Add the coconut milk

8. Now add the meat, and with a wooden spoon, mix the meat thoroughly in the marinade

9. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour

Putting it together

1. Just before you are ready to take the marinaded meat out of the fridge you can start frying the onions and curry leaves

   1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish

   2. Add the sliced onions and curry leaves

   3. On a low heat, cook the onions till they are soft and melting, with a wooden spoon stir occasionally so the onions don’t stick to the bottom of the pan

2. Once the onions are almost transparent, add the marinaded meat 

3. Mix the meat thoroughly into the onions and curry leaves, add a generous pinch of salt and then cover with the lid, leaving to cook on a low heat for about 30 minutes

4. Every now and then, give the meat a stir

5. After about 30 minutes, slightly ease the lid off the casserole pot, allow a little space to let the water evaporate and the sauce to thicken for about 15 minutes. You'll know it's done when the coats each morsel of meat with a delicious spicy coconut sauce

6. Serve with rice and/or Chapati. Goes well with dhal and eggplant curry.

7. Enjoy!

   
   

Chapati

A beautifully colorful meal

Curry, salad, chapati