This is one of those ‘What have I got in the cupboard?’ curries I invented for supper a few weeks ago but it is no less delicious or satisfying for that. With our usual shopping habits impacted by lockdowns, it’s good to have a tasty supper standby that in no way seems either bonkers or second-best but can be put together quickly with frozen meat and vegetables and canned ingredients. Frozen spinach particularly is a brilliant thing to have in the freezer and, because it’s so finely chopped, gives a wonderful velvety texture to the keema sauce. This should feed four easily, especially if you add some warm flatbreads (I always have a pack in the freezer and defrost them in the toaster when I need them). Once you’re prepped which takes about half an hour, it will take care of itself in the oven for an hour. Enjoy!
- 500g minced lamb
- 1 large onion, peeled and sliced
- 1 tbsp light olive oil
- 5 large cauliflower florets, broken into smaller pieces
- 1 x 400g can of chickpeas
- 2 tbsps Greek yoghurt and another 4 to serve
- 2 tbsps tomato puree
- 2 large handfuls of frozen spinach
- 3cm root of fresh ginger
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 fresh green chilli pepper
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- Salt and black pepper
- 4 fresh tomatoes, quartered
- Fresh coriander
- Optional: warm flatbreads to serve
To make…
- Coarsely chop the ginger, garlic, chilli and a splash of water and then blitz for a few minutes to form a paste in a mini blender (you could make more and freeze it in smaller portions for another time as this is a classic base for curries). Mix in the ground coriander, cumin and chilli powder and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan, add the cumin, fennel seeds and onions and gently cook for about 15 minutes so that the onions soften and slightly caramelise.
- Next, add the lamb and brown it lightly.
- Pour in the spice paste and cook through for a couple of minutes and stir in the yoghurt and tomato paste.
- Add the little cauliflower florets, frozen spinach and chickpeas. Stir thoroughly and season with a little salt and plenty of black pepper.
- Transfer the mixture to a large shallow casserole dish with a lid and cook in the oven for an hour. The lamb will become tender and the sauce will thicken and develop in flavour. Take it out of the oven, give it a stir and taste for seasoning. Add a little more salt, pepper or chilli to how you like it if you think it needs it (I like it pretty spicy) – turn the oven off and put the casserole dish back in until you need to serve. When you bring it to the table, tuck in the fresh tomatoes, scatter the chopped coriander and top with 4 tablespoons of yoghurt sprinkled with a little extra cumin, chilli powder or black pepper. Serve warm flatbreads on the side.
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