Father’s Day in SA happens in the middle of winter, and since it’s particularly cold this week, you might want to cook something that will heat up the kitchen!

Look no further than this delicious lamb curry. Apart from needing a few extra spices, (so you may need to source those now if you don’t have them), it’s a fairly simple recipe to follow – it just needs a bit of cooking time. If your dad is a fan of curry, this is a sure way to warm his heart!

Here’s what goes in

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon of garlic, crushed
• 800g – 1kg of lamb knuckle
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 tin of good quality, plum tomatoes (400g)
• 2 heaped teaspoons of ginger, crushed
• 1 teaspoon of chilli, crushed
• 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
• 750ml of chicken stock

For the seasoning mix:

• 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon of caraway
• 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon of fenugreek
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 clove

For the minted yoghurt raita:

• A handful of fresh mint, chopped
• Half a cup of cucumber, peeled and grated
• A handful of fresh coriander leaves
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 500g double cream plain yoghurt

How to do it

Pre-heat your oven to 160°C. Using a pestle and mortar, grind the dry spices together to make the seasoning mix. In a heavy-based, oven-proof pot, fry the garlic and onions until soft and transparent. Season the lamb with salt, then brown it in the pot with Worcestershire sauce and the seasoning mix, ensuring the lamb is evenly coated in all the spices. Add the tomato, ginger and chilli and allow to simmer. Now, add the chicken stock until the liquid fully covers the meat and you have a good, saucy consistency. Place the lid on it and pop it into the oven for four to five hours. Add the potatoes halfway through the cooking time. Stir the curry and check the liquid level every hour, as you don’t want it to dry out. If it needs more liquid, top it up with one cup of chicken stock at a time.

In the meantime, prepare the raita. De-stalk and chop the mint and coriander leaves and mix this in with the yoghurt, cucumber and cumin seeds. Once the curry is cooked, serve with steamed basmati rice, a handful of shredded coriander and a side of minted yoghurt raita.