rogan josh

Ingredients

3 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

8 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon turmeric

4 tablespoons natural yoghurt

1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns

1 kg quality lamb shoulder, cut into big cubes

5 medium-sized red onions, halved

2 red peppers, halved and deseeded

4 fresh red chillies, deseeded

1 tablespoon green cardamom pods

½ tablespoon whole cloves

1 stick cinnamon

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

4 small dried red chillies

1 splash vegetable oil

2 teaspoons paprika

600 g tinned chopped tomatoes

½ tablespoon salt

sliced chilli, to serve

coconut shavings, to serve

chopped coriander, to serve

chopped mint, to serve

Method

Mix your ginger and garlic together. Put them in a bowl that's big enough to fit all the cubed lamb in. Add the turmeric, yoghurt and black pepper to the bowl and mix together. Tip the lamb into the bowl and stir it around until it's well coated with the yoghurt and spices. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge to marinate.

Preheat your oven to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 3. Chop your onions and peppers roughly and whiz them in a food processor with the fresh red chillies.

Put the pan you are going to cook the curry in on the medium heat and add the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and coriander. Toast until they go a shade darker in colour, then pour into a pestle and mortar and grind up with the dried red chillies.

Keep the pan on the heat and add a splash of vegetable oil. Add the whizzed onion, peppers and chilli paste from the food processor with the ground up spices and paprika.

Cook over a gentle heat for about 10 minutes. By now, lots of delicious curry smells will be coming out of the pot. Add the tomatoes, the marinated lamb and half a pint of water, and stir well. When the curry comes to the boil add the salt, cover tightly with a lid and place in your preheated oven. You can basically forget about it now, as all the hard work is done. Just wait 2 hours and carefully take the pot out of the oven.

Taste it, and if it needs salt, add a little; if it's too hot, add a little yoghurt to cool it down. You can garnish with extra chilli, coconut and herbs. Serve with rice, your favourite Indian bread such as parathas, naans or chapattis, and loads of cold beer – you're going to need it!