Palak Gosht (Lamb with Spinach)

I don't buy lamb often. It's just too damn expensive. But I saw some that was very slighlty discounted the other day and decided that that was enough excuse to get a kilo of stewing lamb.

We still haven't made most of the lamb recipes in the book, so I just picked two and rolled with it. This one today and I'll probably do the other one tomorrow. I had hoped to do a vegetable side to go with it, but I ran out of time. At least there's some spinach in it. But I know it would've been better to have more vegetables with the meal. Oh well...

Palak Gosht

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 550g stewing lamb
• 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 (5cm x 2cm x 3mm) slices fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 tsp. bin bhuna hua garam masala
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 c. water, divided
• 500g spinach, chopped
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Add the yogurt to the lamb and stir to combine. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil over medium heat and add onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, for ~10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and add the garam masala and the turmeric. Stir and let it sizzle for a few seconds.
4. Transfer contents of pan to a blender and add tomato paste and 1/3 c. of the water. Purée and set aside.
5. Return pan (now empty) to medium-high heat and add the yogurt-coated lamb. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes.
6. Add spinach one handful at a time.
7. Once spinach has wilted, add the contents of the blender.
8. Pour the remaining 2/3 c. water into the blender and swish it around to rinse it out. Add this to the pan as well.
9. Stir in salt and reduce heat to medium-low.
10. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
11. Serve over rice with some flatbreads along side.

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Variations

Vegetarian Version

Ingredients

• 550g paneer, cubed and fried
• 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 (5cm x 2cm x 3mm) slices fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 tsp. bin bhuna hua garam masala
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 c. water, divided
• 500g spinach, chopped
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt