I’ve been blessed with two parents that cook delicious food. Almost everything that they make is delicious. As a kid growing up, I never appreciated how much of a blessing this was because, well, I was a dumb kid. I didn’t know any better.

My rude awakening was when I went to college and couldn’t get mom and dad’s food every day. So mom used to pack up meals to keep in my dorm. It curbed my cravings but still is nothing like being at home and getting to smell the food as it’s cooked. Few things are better than that - even if you have to run around the house close as many doors as possible.

For those of us that don’t like lamb or can’t get it easily, you can easily make this with boneless chicken thighs.

As any recipe I get from my parents, there were no hard measurements provided as my parent’s always add “a little bit of this, and a little bit of that”. You are allowed to change up the measurements depending on your tastes.

Let’s go.

Nanaji’s Lamb Curry

Ingredients:

• 1.5lbs leg of lamb, fat removed, cut into 1 inch cubes

• 1 tablespoon turmeric

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1-2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

• 2-3 tomatoes

• 1 finely diced red onion

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 3-4 cardamom pods

• 3-4 cloves

• 3-4 tablespoon olive/vegetable oil

• spinach (optional)

• 1 cup beer (optional)

• salt to taste

Directions

1. marinate lamb with salt and chili powder, let sit for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. I’m a bit fan of marinating like this in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

2. heat the oil in a large pot until shimmering

3. add spices (turmeric, chili powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves) and stir for about one minute, then add in the chopped onions until just starting to brown.

4. add ginger garlic paste and keep stiring

5. add lamb after another minute

6. The lamb will release it’s moisture, once this is evaporated, add in the chopped tomatoes

7. At this point, you can transfer everything into an instant pot, add in 1 cup of water/beer, and cook in an instant pot for 15 minutes to soften the lamb.

8. Add cilantro for garnish.

It’s a simple recipe. The spices add a lot of flavor and it’s hard to mess up. Don’t be intimidated - even though it does look intimidating.

Let me know how it goes when you try it!