Lamb Curry

Okay, so this is my first attempt at making my own blend of herbs and spices to create a curry (other than adding lemon myrtle to my Tomato Chicken Curry dish). I recently bought Spice Notes and Recipes by Ian Hemphill who owns "Herbies Spices" a spice shop at Rozelle. I am absolutely loving this book and the inspiration it provides. I now have so many sticky notes stuck to the pages there is really no point having any as almost every page is tagged.

As a result you'll find a lot more herbs and spices in some of my dishes. Some are a little obscure - I am trying to experiment with more unknown ones. If you want to find out more about any visit http://www.herbies.com.au/ where you can also purchase spices online. Or of course ask me (you can ask by making a comment on my recipes).

In this lamb recipe you will find "amchur" which is made from dried green mangoes. I chose to use this spice as it is lemony and adds sourness to curries.

You'll also find "fenugreek" which adds sharpness.

My Sunday night taste testers (Mark and Scott) were very happy with this creation (Mark described it as "very good"). The paprika was added during the cooking process. I tasted the curry while it was cooking and asked the boys whether they thought it needed more kick. Mark, who is a big chilli fan, wanted more heat added, so I added the hot paprika. Personally I think the delicate taste of the other spices can stand alone as a delicious curry, but add paprika as desired to suit your taste buds.

The quantities I list below fed the three of us. So perhaps add a bit more meat if you are feeding more people.

If you do not have a mortar and pestle you can use ground spices and skip the first part about roasting the herbs. I just love bashing the spices myself!

Ingredients

2 cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

4 cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek

1 tablespoon tumeric

1/2 cinnamon quill (or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon)

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 tablespoon amchur

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon hot paprika (or to taste)

Freshly ground black pepper

2 small onions chopped

800g lamb leg steaks cut into 2cm pieces

Flour for dusting lamb

3 tablespoons beef stock

3 tablespoons yoghurt

Oil for frying

Handful fresh mint

Rice and steamed greens to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

Toast the cloves, mustard seeds, fennel seeds and coriander seeds until fragrant. Place spices in a mortal and pestle. Once cooled, grind spices with the garlic until a paste is formed. Add other spices and mix to combine.

Heat oil in a fry pan, add onion and cook until soft. Add spice mixture and cook until fragrant, stirring. Put onion and spice mixture into oven casserole dish and set aside.

Dust lamb pieces with flour. Add more oil to the fry pan and brown lamb on each side. Put lamb on top of onion and spice mixture in casserole dish.

Add stock and yoghurt and stir to combine all ingredients. Place in the oven and cook for 2 - 2/12 hours. The cooking time can depend on how much time you have. If you want to prepare the meal in less time, turn the heat up. Just check the liquid levels and test the lamb at regular intervals. I find however that if I cook the lamb for longer at a lower temperature it is a lot more tender. Taste the sauce as it cooks and add more salt, hot paprika or other spices as desired.

Serve with steamed rice, greens and a sprinkling of mint.

Fish Cakes

These fish cakes are based on my mum's recipe, with my own special touches added. Sometimes I absolutely crave these fish cakes, tonight was an example of this.

Don't be tempted to put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender in order to combine. The end result is simply not as delicious and the texture becomes rubbery.

I tend to add a lot of garlic to these. If you are not a huge fan of garlic, simply add less. I do think it adds a delicious kick though. I also use lemon myrtle again. If you cannot find lemon myrtle in the spice section of your supermarket, try adding some finely chopped lemongrass.

Note that I have used white pepper in this recipe rather than black pepper. I think white pepper works better with the other flavours, but use whichever you have. I have also stipulated fresh breadcrumbs as well as store bought breadcrumbs. The reason for this is that fresh breadcrumbs work better in the actual fish mixture - they are not dry and therefore the fishcakes end up really light and moist. But I like store bought breadcrumbs on the outside as they crisp up during the cooking process. You can easily make fresh breadcrumbs by whizzing day old bread in a food processor. Any extra can be stored in the freezer until needed.

Mark likes to drizzle soy sauce over the fish cakes. You could also serve them with sweet chilli sauce. I like to eat them with white rice and steamed greens (because I need to get greens into every meal). I think the white rice allows the flavours to be properly enjoyed and appreciated. But eat them however you like!

Ingredients (makes 8 patties - serves 2)

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 small onion grated

1-4 cloves garlic crushed

2 teaspoons ground lemon myrtle leaves

1/4 cup mint finely chopped

1/4 cup parsley finely chopped

Zest of 2 limes or zest of 1 lemon

210g tinned salmon, skin and bones removed

Salt and white pepper to taste

2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1 egg

1/2-2/3 cups store bought breadcrumbs

Oilve oil and butter for shallow frying

Method

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry fry pan until lightly browned. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile combine grated onion, garlic, lemon myrtle, mint, parsley, zest, salmon, salt and pepper in a bowl and stir to combine. Add the egg and breadcrumbs and mix with clean hands.

The mixture should feel slightly wet and sticky but not too wet (sorry, I am not sure how to describe this. Basically it should pretty much stay together if rolled into a ball). Add more breadcrumbs if you think the mixture is too wet. Alternatively if it is too dry and crumbly, add a little olive oil or lemon juice.

If you have time, place the mixture in the fridge for an hour or so before cooking.

Form 1-2 tablespoons of mixture into patties and roll in store bought breadcrumbs.

Okay, now the frying. I like to cook them in a bit of olive oil and butter (a couple of tablespoons of oil and perhaps 1 and 1/2 of butter). If the pan gets too dry you may need to add more oil or butter. I then drain them well on paper towels.

Obviously food fried like this cannot be an everyday food. Alternatively you can fry in less oil (perhaps a pan sprayed with olive oil spray). Unfortunately they will not taste as good, but give it a go anyway. Another option is to roll them in a combination of corn flake crumbs and store bought bread crumbs (more corn flake crumbs than ordinary crumbs), spray with olive oil spray and bake in a hot oven. I find the corn flake crumbs have an almost fried like taste when I use this method for chicken schnitzel. I have never used this method for these fish cakes, but plan on giving it a go (so I will update the blog when I do). But for the moment, as an occasional treat, cook in the butter and oil!

Comment on Tomato Chicken Rice Curry

Thanks Lani for your comment, I really appreciate it - you are my first!!

I am really glad that you enjoyed the meal!!

You should be able to get lemon myrtle from the supermarket, although it is hard to find, it's not usually with the other spices. It is usually in a container with a black lid away from the others (I'm not sure why). It is an Australian bush spice that tastes a lot like lemongrass.

Definitely add chilli - I don't really like chilli as I find it too overpowering, but anyone who loves it should add as much as they like.

Thanks again!

Update to Spinach Chorizo and Haloumi Salad

Just a quick update on this recipe.

If you are serving as a main, add extra chorizo and perhaps extra tomatoes. I would suggest 4 sausages, perhaps more if you are feeding hungry people, or people with big appetites. Tomatoes are up to you.

I'm not great with quantities, I normally just throw things together. Therefore publishing how many people a recipe serves is quite a task. I also tend to over-cater and normally have far too much food. So I may be a little conservative in what I publish as an attempt to compensate for that tendency.

So stay with me while I work all of this out and look out for updates to quantities as I experiment and receive feedback.

And thanks to everyone who has been reading!