ALL-IN-ONE LAMB DHANSAK

• servings: 6
• active time: 65 minutes
• total time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

800g boneless lamb leg meat

2 tbsp sunflower oil

2 medium onions, finely sliced

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 plump green chillies, finely chopped (deseed if you like a milder curry)

25g chunk of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated

4 tbsp medium curry paste

150g red lentils, rinsed and drained

1 tsp flaked sea salt, plus extra for seasoning

2 bay leaves

800ml water

1 small butternut squash (about 500g)

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime (about 2½ tbsp)

freshly ground black pepper

plain natural yoghurt

chopped coriander, for serving

Directions

Trim the lamb, discarding any really hard lumps of fat and sinew. You need a bit of fat to add flavour and succulence to the meat. Cut the lamb into chunks of about 3cm. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Heat a tablespoon of the sunflower oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and fry the lamb over a high heat for 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned on all sides. Do this in a couple of batches so you don't overcrowd the pan. Transfer the browned lamb to a plate.

Pour the remaining oil into the casserole dish and cook the sliced onions very gently over a medium-low heat for 15 minutes until they are softened and lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4.

Add the garlic, chillies and ginger to the casserole dish with the onions and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring. Spoon in the curry paste and stir well over a medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the lentils, salt, bay leaves and water, then put the lamb back in the pan and stir until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Bring to a gentle simmer, then take the casserole dish off the heat. Cover the surface of the curry with a piece of baking parchment, pop a lid on top and put it in the oven to cook for 1 hour. Just before the hour is up, peel the butternut squash and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into rough 3cm chunks.

Take the casserole dish out of the oven and stir the squash and lime juice into the curry. Cover with baking parchment and the lid and continue to cook for a further 45 minutes or until the lamb and squash are very tender and the sauce is thick. Serve with spoonfuls of yoghurt and chopped coriander and some rice or naan bread (see page 247).

Notes

Lamh and lentils are perfect together and our version of the popular dhansak is deliciously hot, with a hin o/ sourness provided by the lime juice. You can reduce the amount of chillies if you like a milder curry. Dhansak is traditionally served with rice. Serves 6