Lamb Curry

We’re back with another installment of Cookbook Club featuring Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin. As I touched on in our first cooking adventure from the book, Tipton-Martin combed through over 400 cookbooks dating to 1827 to create a more accurate historical account of African American cooking that goes well beyond “southern” and “soul” cooking. The book also includes original recipes to show launching points for the dishes the author created. To see such skeletal outlines of ingredients and directions speaks to the skills and knowledge previous generations had.

In a mouthwatering analogy, Toni Tipton-Martin expresses this goal for her book, “I hope that by the time you finish cooking your way through Jubilee, you will think of African American cooking like a sultry gumbo: built, perhaps, on a foundation of humble sustenance, but layered with spice, flavors, and aromas embellished by the whim and the skills of the cook, served with grace and richness as well as love.”

On that note, let’s continue cooking! This lamb curry pays homage to South African curries, which themselves blend Malay and Indian influences. From there, curries traveled to the Caribbean, where Jamaicans added gamey mutton or goat. This recipe combines a hearty base of tomatoes with fork-tender lamb, and a few surprise twists: stewed apples, a splash of rum, and a burst of lime. Serve with whole-grain emperor’s rice for the visual contrast of its deep purple hue. Then dog-ear the page, because if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to return to this recipe again and again.

PS: Don’t forget to support your local, independent book retailer when buying your copy for our cookbook club. My personal favorites include White Whale Bookstore and Riverstone Books.

Lamb Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 lbs lamb shoulder or leg, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and black pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
2 Tablespoons minced green bell pepper
2 Tablespoons minced celery
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons curry powder, to taste
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 ½ cups diced tomatoes (I used canned tomatoes in lieu of sad off-season varieties)
2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
2 medium green apples, peeled and cubed
2 Tablespoons rum (optional)
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice (optional)
Freshly cooked rice

Directions

Place the lamb on a platter and pat dry with paper towels. Season all over with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Let stand for 2 hours.
In a large Dutch oven or deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until sizzling. Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, add the lamb and sear until browned and crusty, turning to cook on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the lamb to a plate.
Add the butter to the pan and saute the onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the curry powder over the vegetables and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Return the lamb to the pan with the tomato paste, tomatoes, chicken stock, and bay leaf.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick, about 1 ½ hours. Add the apples to the pan during the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the rum and lime juice, if using, and heat for 1 minute.

Serve with rice.

Story, Photography, Styling by Quelcy Kogel

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