Simple Basil Lamb Curry

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After my pork fest in France (posts are in the works, be patient!), I thought it might be a nice change to have a bit of lamb.

The local lamb is pretty gristly (and grisly too when you walk past the butcher shops and see headless sheep and goats, dappled with flies, hanging in the unrefrigerated storefront windows). A couple of the local supermarkets carry imported lamb and I suppose there has been some pressure on the commissary to get with the program because they have started putting New Zealand lamb on their shelves. I bought a very lovely NZ lamb steak, bone in, cut from the thigh.

I cut the meat into chunks, discarding the bone (only one tiny one, not enough for three dogs to share), and tossed them into a large pot with coarsely chopped, organic, two small red organic onions (yes, organic Saudi onions!), chopped garlic, olive oil, salt, and a generous amount of red pepper flakes. I also added one large sweet potato, cleaned and cut into coarse chunks. I stirred the meat, potato, and spices well then put on medium heat.

While the meat was browning, I mixed 1/2 cup of coconut milk powder with 1 cup of water. Even with a whisk, you have to stir this often to get the powder to completely dissolve. I use the powder because it keeps for a long time and doesn’t take up as much room as the cans.

When the meat was still pink on the inside but nice and brown on the outside and the onions were starting to turn clear, I added about 3/4s of the cup of coconut milk slurry and a large handful of fresh chopped basil. I gave it all a good stir then let it simmer for about 15 minutes until the potato chunks were cooked through.

For a side dish, I cut up a beautiful fresh mango.

No rice is needed since the potato is in there.

That’s all it takes for a simple basil lamb curry.