Indian for tea but homemade not takeaway 8-1-13

Anyone who knows me knows I try to avoid cooking on a Friday night . Usually it's a time for hubbie to BBQ or cook a steak.

However cooking is sometimes a stress relief for me.

Tonight as hubbie is away and I have had a big week I thought about what I had in the freezer. My thoughts went to an Indian dish as I had butterfly lamb and frozen spinach . Lamb Saag sounded like the order of the day .

I also thought onion bajji is something I have wanted to make for ages. I don't do much, if any, deep frying but I thought tonight might be an exception. I looked on my phone for a recipe. I had brought the chick pea flour at Binn Inn a while ago waiting for this occasion.

I had No.2 on cutting so he cut up three onions. I added a wee bit of chilli flakes, half teaspoon of turmeric , 1 cup chickpea flour , half teaspoon of cumin seeds . Then I added enough water to make a stiff batter.

Then I deep fried in spoon lots. I think that these were a hit .

No nuts, gluten or dairy.

The lamb saag is still in the casserole in the oven so it was nice to have an entree on a Friday night, bit like going out for dinner.

Recipe for Lamb Saag


Either 1packet frozen spinach or 750g fresh spinach
800g lamb cut into 3 cm cubes
2 red onions, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 Tbspn grated fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
2 Tbspn ground coriander
1 Tbspn ground cumin
1 tspn ground turmeric
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 red chillies
100ml yoghurt or soya milk , i use soya milk
1 cinnamon stick
2 tspn garam masala

Heat oven to 170 C .
Trim spinach and quickly blanch. Drain off excess water .If you want dish to be smooth you can pulse the spinach in the kitchen whizz.

Heat oil in frypan and cook lamb pieces till browned.Just to sear in the juices. Remove from pan.

Heat oil , 1 Tbspn. Add onion cook stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until golden brown.Add garlic, ginger and bay leaves,cook stirring for 3 more minutes.

Add the spices and cook stirring for 2 minutes. Add the chilli and tomato.Stir over low heat for 5 minutes.Remove from heat cool and then add yoghurt or alternative.

Return the meat to the dish and add the cinnamon stick. Bake covered for an hour and then uncovered for 15 minutes.Stir in spinach and garam masala. If using frozen spinach thaw it before putting it in.Cook stirring occasionally for 15 minutes, or until lamb is tender.Remove bay leaves and cinnamon stick.

Enjoy....