Slow-Cooked Lamb with Bombay Potatoes recipe

Some of the best dishes require a bit of forward thinking.

But if you put the time in, you can find yourself with a gorgeous meal that will feed large families, and makes for great leftovers.

Any meat will work well in a slow-cook recipe. For this dish, lamb shoulder is the king.

Slowly stewing for hours in a rich, aromatic, spicy broth, this dish is an event unto itself.

Add to the mix a flavourful if inauthentic Bombay potato dish and you have the perfect weekend dinner recipe.

DESIblitz shows you how to prepare slow-cooked lamb with Bombay potatoes.

Preparing the Lamb

Ingredients:

• 1 shoulder of lamb
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 piece of root ginger, finely chopped
• 400g chopped tomatoes
• 1 litre beef stock
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chilli flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons tumeric
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 4-5 bay leaves
• 4-5 cardomom pods
• 2 teaspoons tamarind paste or alternative

Method:

1. Prepare the lamb shoulder by seasoning well with salt and pepper.
2. In your slow-cook dish of choice, heat up a few teaspoons of cooking oil and sear the lamb for two minutes on each side.
3. Take out the lamb and leave to one side.
4. In the same dish, put the onions and chillies in and cook for 4-5 minutes.
5. Next add the spice mix, ginger and garlic, stir well and cook for another 2 minutes.
6. Add the stock and tomatoes, and return the lamb to the dish.
7. Cover and cook for 4-6 hours (lower if cooking in a conventional gas over, higher if using an electric slow cooker).

Preparing the Bombay potatoes

Ingredients:

• 750g potatoes, cut into 3cm cubes
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• 400g chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint

Method:

1. Put the potatoes in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes.
2. In a large, well oiled pan, add the onion, garlic, mustard seeds and spices. Stir well for a few minutes or until the onions are translucent.
3. Add the tomatoes and stir well.
4. Add the potatoes, and on a medium to low heat cook until tender.
5. Serve the potatoes and lamb.

Cooking this particular cut of meat is great for retaining the flavour of the spice mix, and for producing a tender dish that falls off the bone without so much as a second thought.

This meat is so tender, the bone comes out clean, but it retains an excellent texture.

The two dishes complement each other well, a bridging tang from the tomatoes creates a common theme and an almost Mediterranean vibe.

Any South Asian food fan worth their salt will know that Bombay potatoes are about as authentic as the red in a Tandoori chicken, very much a ‘restaurant’ dish, but one that complements this slow cook lamb recipe well.

Because this dish is actually two dishes, it is easy to store, and can be frozen without much impact on their tastes.

If you are really not keen on the idea of Bombay potatoes, you can swap out for a simple rice dish, or double down on the lamb with a nice fat naan.

Take the time to enjoy this delicious lamb dish!