Ingredients

• 50 ml vegetable oil
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped
• 1cm piece ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 kg. lamb, bone-in, cut into 5-6cm chunks
• 1-2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. paprika (not smoked)
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 250-450 ml water
• 3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds, dry-roasted and ground
• 500g potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• 2 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
• 2 green chiles, finely chopped
• rice or naan for serving

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large saucepan with a lid over a medium heat. When hot, add the onions, ginger and garlic and cook for 7-8 minutes until the onions are light brown. Add the mutton pieces, salt, turmeric, paprika and red chilli powder then add 150ml water and reduce the heat to medium low. Cover the pan with the lid and cook for about 15-20 minutes until the mutton is tender and the curry is reddish brown, checking the water has not dried up – if it does add about 4 teaspoons of water to ensure that the mutton is just covered.

Increase the heat to medium high, add the vegetable oil, tomatoes and ground coriander seeds. Stir-fry to allow the oil in the pan to cook through the tomatoes and create a thick red sauce with oil separating and rising to the surface of the curry.

Add the potatoes and 200-300ml water, depending on how watery you prefer the curry (traditionally it is quite watery), then reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. The curry should be red, with oil rising to the surface, but watery. If this has not happened yet, keep the saucepan on a very low heat for a further 5-10 minutes, but make sure not to overcook the potatoes.

Turn off the heat, cover with the lid and let the curry simmer in its own heat for about 10 minutes before serving. When ready to serve, transfer to a serving dish and garnish with garam masala, chopped coriander and chopped green chillies. This is best served with plain basmati rice or naan bread.

Suayya Usmani / BBC