Holy moly this was awesome and the beauty of these slow cooked meat dishes……..set & forget. I had these babies in the oven and prepped in 30 minutes, went for a walk to the beach for a swim, came back and sat with a glass of wine in hand and had a lovely chat to my Hubby as he watered the garden. All this while they were slowly bubbling away and infusing with an array of spices, coconut and lime. Stunning!
Prep time: 30 Minutes Cooking time : 2.5 Hours $ Low Budget
Serves 4
Olive oil for frying
4 x lamb shanks, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2.5cm piece of ginger, grated
2 brown onions, sliced top to bottom
1/2 tsp of chilli flakes
1/2 tsp of chilli powder
2 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of cumin seeds
2 tsp of ground coriander
1 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of paprika
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp of garam masala
1 cup of chicken stock
1 x 400gm tin of tomatoes
1 x 400ml tin of coconut cream
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbs of honey
1 medium eggplant, chopped into chunks
1 bag of baby spinach
1 cup of chopped coriander leaves
Sea salt and pepper
Steamed rice, greek yoghurt, coriander sprigs and lime wedges to serve
Heat a large, heavy based pan or casserole dish, add a little oil and brown the seasoned lamb shanks on all sides. Remove and set aside on a plate. In the same pan lightly fry the onion until soft and then add the garlic and ginger, fry for a further minute or until fragrant. Pop in the cumin, cumin seeds, coriander, chilli flakes, chilli powder, turmeric, paprika and cinnamon. Stir fry for a minute and then pour in the stock, tomatoes and coconut cream. Mix well to combine and bring to a simmer before seasoning with the lime juice, honey and salt and pepper.
Return the shanks to the pan, spoon over the sauce and cover with a piece of baking paper and a tight fitting lid. Return to the boil and reduce the heat to low. Cook for approximately 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
After 2 hours of simmering, remove the baking paper and lid and allow the sauce to reduce for 30 minutes. Heat another fry pan, add a little olive oil and fry the eggplant chunks until golden. I find this helps to keep its shape in the sauce. Once golden add to the curry and stir gently to combine. Lastly add the baby spinach, coriander leaves and sprinkle over the garam masala. Once the spinach has wilted stir to combine but be careful not to pull the meat off the shanks.
To serve, place a couple of tablespoons of steamed rice on four serving plates. Top with the shanks, spoon over the sauce and dollop on a spoonful of yoghurt. Garnish with a sprig of coriander and lime wedges.
Wow. I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious!!! My husband is not easily impressed and he agreed. I only came across your website last week and this is the first of your recipes I’ve tried. Safe to say I’ll be making my way through the rest of your collection! Thanks 🙂
Thanks so much Samantha, I’m glad you loved it! Looking forward to hearing more of your feedback, Cheers Em
Without a doubt that is one of the best curries I think I’ve ever had. Don’t be scared when you taste test it & think it’s going to be too hot. Once you add the final ingredients it’s just right. Yum…
Wow! Thanks Jeff, that is a big call but one I am happy to hear! I hope you try more of the recipes on the website and find them equally as yum! 🙂
Could you put this in a slow cooker? If so, on high for four hours?
Yes you could but make sure you brown the shanks first and don’t add the eggplant until just before serving. I personally prefer the stove top method as you can reduce the sauce. I would probably do 4-5 hours on high or 8 hours on low or at least until the meat comes away from the bone easily.
I gave this curry all the love it sounded like it deserved and I was glad I did. Fantastic ingredients made for an amazing curry that, in actual fact, I should have tripled to feed the family that kept asking for more! Winner.
Big LIKE!
Made this last night, it was AWESOME! Did a bit of a mix between fry pan and slow cooker. Browned the shanks and fried up onions, herbs and spices before adding all to the slow cooker on high for 5 hours. Did last half hour with lid off so it still reduced the sauce some. Even the kids devoured it! Thanks Em, it’s now added to the regular menu!
Fantastic Kylie! I aim to please……and thanks so much for the feedback
Em, I’ve made a few of your dishes but this one takes the cake, A beautiful dish for dinner and the leftovers were fabulous.. So easy to make and we loved it, this will definitely be on the favorites list.
Thanks Leoni 🙂
Hi Em
Enjoy your recipes so much, best food blog in Oz. Tried this recipe on the weekend, substituted the lamb shanks with chuck steak on the bone, used the exact same curry ingredients. Rave notices from my guests, so much flavour, meat really tender and blended the rather large marrow from the bone through the curry. delicious! I will definitely try it with the lamb when better quality shanks are available.
Keep up the innovative and purchaser friendly recipes.
James
Hi James, thank you so much for your comment, it made my day actually 😊 I love what you did with the curry and think I might have to give it a go myself. That is what I love about cooking, it is so adaptable, anything goes really. Not sure about the ‘Best food blog in Oz’ but i’ll Take it. Thanks again so much, Cheers Em