Jungli Laal Maas (Rajasthani stew)

Serves 4, takes about 2 hours

A few weeks after we got back from our first trip to India, we were craving authentic Indian food – we found this in a library book and adapted it a bit until we produced the best curry either of us had ever made. Several years later it is still one of our favourites. If you have the time it’s possible to cook this at the same time as the Paneer Balti with Prawns, the Spiced Lentil Dahl and the Mango Lassi Fool for a bit of a curry feast, but it’s equally good on its own. This is a fairly spicy dish; if you’re feeling a bit wussy, leave out some, though not all, of the chillies in the masala.

500g beef or venison or chicken, in 2.5cm cubes

Half tsp turmeric

Masala:

A thumb sized chunk of fresh ginger root, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (optional)

4-6 large dried red chillies, crumbled finely

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds, dry fried and crushed in a pestle and mortar, or powdered cumin

1 tbsp coriander seeds, dry fried and crushed in a pestle and mortar, or powdered coriander

Sauce:

3-4 medium sized onions, chopped

3-4 tbsps ghee (or butter)

2 tbsps light oil

5cm cinnamon stick

3-4 cardamoms, broken open

3-4 cloves

2 blades mace

1 large dried chilli, broken in half

300g Greek yoghurt

2 large tomatoes, chopped, or 8 cherry tomatoes, whole

Large bunch coriander, chopped to serve

  • Rub the meat with turmeric and a generous pinch of salt and set aside
  • Put all the masala ingredients in a blender and whiz to a thick paste with a drop of water
  • Fry the onions in the ghee/butter your largest heavy bottom saucepan till golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside for later
  • Add the light oil to the pan, and gently sauté the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, mace and red chilli for 2 mins.
  • Then add the meat and fry till evenly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside
  • Add the masala to same pan and sauté for 4 – 5 mins until the oil starts to separate out from it. Drain off most of the oil
  • Return the meat to the pan, then add enough water to cover it by an inch. Cover and simmer at as low a heat as you can until the meat is nearly done, about an hour depending on which meat you use. Alternatively, you can put it in a covered ovenproof dish and bung it in the oven at 150 degrees C (gas mark 4) for about an hour
  • Whiz the fried onions and yoghurt in the blender, and stir it into the nearly cooked meat. Add the tomatoes too, stir well, and continue to cook until the meat is nice and tender, probably another 40 minutes
  • Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped coriander, and serve with Chapatis or naan or steamed or pilaf rice