Topic: Lamb Madras with pre-cooked lamb

[976bar]

Today I bought 1/2 leg of lamb which had been de-boned and butterflied. Previously I had made a lamb madras in my slow cooker which was lovely, but today I wanted to pre cook the lamb only in the slow cooker and then make the madras in a pan.

Pre-cooked Lamb.

Cut the lamb into 2 inch chunks
heat a little oil in a pan and when hot add the lamb and seal the edges. Remove the lamb and set aside.

Then add

1 tsp fresh ginger puree
1 tsp fresh garlic puree
mix that around in the oil (not too hot or it will burn) for around 30 seconds
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp curry powder (I use Rajah Madras hot)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp tomato puree which has 2 tbls water added to it.

let that cook into a thick paste for around 45 seconds then add just a little water to make it pourable.

Put the lamb and the spice mixture into a slow cooker top with water until just covered, then add 2 maggi stock cubes (see photo at bottom)

place the lid then cook on slow for 4-5 hours or until the lamb is soft.

After this process, I tasted the lamb and it just fell apart and the flavour was out of this world. To be honest, I could have just sat there and ate that lamb with the stock straight out of the slow cooker.......

However, I went on to make the madras and I use CA's recipe for madras with a few slight changes.

I always use 1 tsp ginger instead of 1/2 as I love ginger in my madras.
1 desert spoon of tomato paste instead of 1 tblsp
1 and 1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar (I don't like sweet curries at all)
2 tsp lemon juice
Fresh Coriander (a large handful. Again I love coriander)
No fresh chillies.

Apart from the changes above I use the same method as CA and I have to say this was the best Lamb Madras I have ever made. The lamb was out of this world


(Maggi Stock Cubes)


(Pre-cooked Lamb)


(The final dish)


(plated)

[Stephen Lindsay]

looks great 976bar, what do you think gave this Madras the edge over your slow cooker version?

[976bar]

Hi Stephen,

The slow cooker version was lovely, but it induced too much heat from the chilli's after cooking over a long period of time and seemed to have lost it's subtlety and was more of a traditional curry.

The method I used tonight made it a more vibrant curry like you would expect from a BIR. Pre-cooking the lamb this way gave it a wonderful flavour without losing that lamb taste.

[moonster]

looks very good Bar.

where do you get them stock cubes from? i have never seen them before.

regards

Alan ;D

[Razor]

Hi 976,

That Madras looks absolutely awesome, it really does.  I much prefer lamb in a curry to chicken but because of how difficult it can be to get the lamb right, chicken always seems to get the nod.

I'm gonna have to give this one a try, once I get meself a decent slow cooker.

Many thanks for posting it, along with the photos.

Ray

[976bar]

looks very good Bar.

where do you get them stock cubes from? i have never seen them before.

regards

Alan ;D

Hi Moonster, there's a chinese store in Aldershot that sells just about anything and everything you could ever wish for and I found them in there.

They are a really good stock cube and probably about 1 cm square.

[976bar]

Hi 976,

That Madras looks absolutely awesome, it really does.  I much prefer lamb in a curry to chicken but because of how difficult it can be to get the lamb right, chicken always seems to get the nod.

I'm gonna have to give this one a try, once I get meself a decent slow cooker.

Many thanks for posting it, along with the photos.

Ray

Hi Razor, to be honest I wasn't sure about the lamb at first. I tried it after 2 hours and it was a bit tough and I thought to myself what a waste of ?8.50. But then I tried it after 4 hours and it was getting soft, by the 5th hour it was falling apart. I was so relieved.

So, it does need a long long slow cook, don't be afraid to leave it in there, it will end up fantastic

[Stephen Lindsay]

yeah your Madras does look the biz 976 and slow cooked beef and lamb are always mouth watering!

[moonster]

976bar you have just inspired me to oreder one i have just ordered from amazon!!

?50 down to ?25 6.5L so will be good for my stew as well.

thanks

Alan ;D

[PaulP]

Just to add I also do virtually the same as 976bar using a slow cooker to pre-cook lamb.

5 hours is about right and I use quality leg of lamb chopped into pieces about 1.5 inches.
Some people think this is a waste of a good joint of lamb but I think it tastes great in a curry.

I have tried some of the pre-cooking recipes on cr0 such as the slow simmer method but even after 1.5 hours the lamb stays tough as boots.

I imagine this would work well for beef as well but I don't really make beef curries.

Cheers,

Paul