Lamb and Spinach Whole Spice Curry

There is something about the end of Summer and early Autumn which makes me anticipate the seasons to come. We're approaching a wonderful time of year now, with all of the beautiful fruits, berries and vegetables which come into season.

It was a sunny, warm day today but in the shade it was cool and the leaves have started falling from the trees. This makes me think of one thing - long, slow cooking.

This curry is based on a Madhur Jaffrey one, but I added spinach and juggled a few of the quantities to make it into a dish you can serve by itself (with rice and naan) without needing to make various side dishes. It's fairly mild, and you can make it more or less so by changing the amount of cayenne pepper you use. If you're going to put more in, wait until the end and do it by taste.

This will serve four and takes around 1 hour 30 minutes to make.

Lamb and Spinach Whole Spice Curry
4 tbsps vegetable oil
8 cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
8 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
4 chopped white onions
3 chopped garlic cloves
600g boneless lamb - chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
500ml natural yoghurt
2 tbsps ground coriander
2 tsps ground ginger
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
300g frozen spinach
 Large handful coriander
Naan bread and boiled rice, to serve

1. Heat the oil over a medium high heat in a large casserole dish then add the cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Cook for 2 minutes, then tip in the onions and garlic.
2. Cook for around 5 minutes until the onion is starting to brown, then add the meat, yoghurt, ground coriander, ground ginger, cayenne pepper and salt. Stir well to combine.
3. Put the oven on at around 160 degrees, put the lid on the casserole dish and put in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and put back on the hob on a medium heat. Stir in the frozen spinach and allow to cook through, then add the chopped coriander.