Pressure cook lamb and spinach together and, in a jiffy, you’ll get that soft, thick, oleaginous quality associated with very long cooking times, said Catherine Phipps. This curry – a go-to in our house – can be made with fresh spinach rather than frozen, but cook the spinach down first so the liquid it gives out doesn’t flood the curry. When I can get hold of it, I will also add some fenugreek leaf (either fresh or frozen).
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 cloves
- 5 black cardamom pods
- 1⁄2 cinnamon stick
- 12 curry leaves (optional)
- 1 onion, thickly sliced
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed or grated
- stems from 1 small bunch of coriander, finely chopped, plus a few whole sprigs
- to serve (optional): 15g piece of ginger, grated
- 800g lamb neck fillet, trimmed and cut into large chunks
- 2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks slightly larger than the lamb
- 750g frozen whole-leaf spinach, preferably defrosted
- juice of 1 lemon
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- a few sliced green chillies, to serve
Method:
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- Heat your pressure cooker and add the coconut oil, the whole spices and curry leaves, if using. When the spice aroma hits you and/or the curry leaves start to crackle and pop, add the onion, curry powder, garlic, coriander stems and ginger. Stir to combine for a couple of minutes, then add the lamb and potatoes and season with plenty of salt.
- Pour over 100ml of water and stir to make sure the base of the cooker is completely deglazed. Squeeze the excess water from the defrosted spinach and add the spinach to the cooker. Alternatively, put the frozen spinach on top if you haven’t had time to defrost.
- Bring up to high pressure, then adjust the heat until it is just high enough to maintain the pressure. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to drop pressure naturally. Taste for seasoning and add a little lemon juice. If you used still-frozen spinach, you might want to reduce the liquid levels a little, so leave to simmer for a few minutes.
- Regardless, leave to stand for a few minutes, then garnish with sprigs of coriander, if you like, and serve with green chillies as well as rice or flatbreads and maybe a dal/lentil curry.
Taken from "Everyday Pressure Cooking" by Catherine Phipps, published by Quadrille at £22. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £19.99, call 020 3176 3835 or visit The Week Bookshop
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