Fiery Lamb & Spinach Curry and Spiced Green Beans {Sweet Heat # 5}

As if I ever need an excuse to cook a curry, Michelle from Food, Football and a Baby gave me the perfect one this month when she chose Indian food as the theme for this month's Sweet Heat Challenge. On top of that, my husband recently declared that he just doesn't find Indian food spicy (I know!! What is that all about?!).....cue the perfect excuse for me to make an extra hot and spicy curry!!

It had been a l-o-n-g week....hubby had been gone for work all week and Wee One had been sick (and I myself hadn't been feeling 100% and also completely uninspired) so I was really looking forward to Friday night and my curry feast that I was planning. Of course as is always the way for me when I make a curry, I find it absolutely impossible to only make a curry.....there is always rice (naturally) but I always have to make some other things to go along with it. This time I made one of my favourite side dishes to have with curries – my Spiced Green Beans. It had also been my intention to try and make my own Naan bread for this occasion but time got the better of me so thankfully I had a packet on standby which I had recently bought! Next time though.....

The meal was fantastic – just what the doctor ordered and my wonderful husband had to retract his comment about Indian food not being spicy (although he can definitely take it a lot hotter than I can – which is saying something!)!! This curry really packed a punch and since my heat tolerance seems to have gone up recently and my cravings for spicy food have intensified this hit the spot perfectly! The perfect Friday night feast enjoyed with my husband and an ice cold beer or two!

Fiery Lamb & Spinach Curry

4-6 dried red chillies
2 onions, peeled & halved

1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
900g/ 2lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cubed
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
300ml water
6 fresh red chillies, split lengthways ¾ (keeping the stalk intact)
85g/ 3oz fresh baby spinach
Drizzle of Natural Yogurt
1 fresh chilli, finely chopped

Put the chillies in a small bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak and rehydrate for 10-20 minutes.

Put the onion, ginger, garlic, and soaked chillies into the bowl of a food processor and whizz together until you have a paste. Heat the oil in a large pan then add the onion mixture and cook for roughly 10 minutes until just turning golden. Add the coriander, cumin, curry powder, turmeric, cayenne pepper and cinnamon sticks and stir well so everything is mixed together. Leave to cook for another minute or so then add the lamb and stir well so its coated in the spice mixture. Cook until the lamb has browned on all sides then add the tomatoes, tomato puree, water, salt and pepper and the 6 split chillies. Bring to a simmer then over with a lid and put in the oven for 2 hours until the lamb is tender (alternatively you can continue to cook it gently on the stove top for the same amount of time, stirring from time to time to make sure it doesn't burn on the bottom).

Remove from the oven and taste to check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Add the spinach and cover with the lid again so that it wilts – this will only take a minute or two. Remove the lid and stir the spinach into the curry then serve at once drizzled with a little of the natural yogurt over the top, a sprinkling of fresh coriander and the freshly chopped chilli.

Serve with some Basmati Rice, Spiced Greens Beans, Naan Bread, Poppadoms and some extra natural yogurt mixed with some finely chopped fresh mint or if you prefer Raita.

Spiced Green Beans

300g green beans, tail end trimmed
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, very finely sliced
¼- ½ tsp red chilli flakes
½ tsp brown mustard seeds
½ tsp nigella seeds
Salt & freshly ground black pepper


Bring a pan of water to a rapid bowl and season with a little salt. Boil the beans for 3 minutes then drain and refresh under cold water.


When ready to cook heat the oil in a frying pan then gently saute the garlic, chilli, mustard and nigella seeds. Add the beans and cook for a minute or 2 until warmed through. Season with the salt and pepper then serve.

 {I apologise about the quality of photos!! I was just too hungry to take good ones!!}