What’s cooking today: Mutton Curry

For a mutton curry you need the strong flavour of lamb knuckles and neck. And a curry isn’t a curry without garam masala, with its characteristic taste of fenugreek.

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

45 ml (3 Tbsp) olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 celery stick, chopped

2 kg lamb knuckles

15 ml (1 Tbsp) crushed garlic

60 ml (4 Tbsp) fresh rosemary leaves

750 ml (3 cups) meat stock 

500 g baby potatoes, halved

500 g pickling onions, cleaned

1 broccoli head, cut into florets

3-6 chillies, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

Sauce

60 ml (4 Tbsp) butter

70 g (4 Tbsp) cake flour

250 ml (1 cup) stock

250 ml (1 cup) cream

30 ml (2 Tbsp) garam masala

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat the olive oil in a cast-iron saucepan until warm, and fry the onion and celery until soft and translucent.

Brown the knuckles in small batches. Add the garlic, rosemary and stock, and cook on medium heat until almost tender for about 2 hours, or cook in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes after you’ve fried the onion and celery.

Add the baby potatoes and pickling onions, and cook until tender. Add the broccoli and chillies, if using, and make the sauce immediately.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the cake flour to form a roux. Cook until it is smooth and is the colour of straw.

Add the stock and cook until thickened. Stir in the cream.

Add the seasonings and mix well. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables and cook until just thickened – the broccoli should still be crunchy and not mushy. Serve with couscous. 

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-07-28-whats-cooking-today-mutton-curry/