This recipe is one of the first for ‘Global Fusion Cooking Week‘ here at Taste Safari, and we have teamed up with Nairobi’s most exceptional food, wine and beer venue, Brew Bistro to bring you Taste Safari’s first wine pairing! No one knows vino like Brew Bistro, who have one of the most extensive wine lists in East Africa, and we are delighted to be partnering with them to make sure you can have the luxury of a perfectly paired wine with your fine home cooking, in the comfort of your own dining room.
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What a better way than to start off a week of celebrating global gastronomy than with a curry!? After all, who doesn’t love a good curry? It was named as one of Britain’s favourite dishes, but the love of this humble and diverse Indian meal extends to all over the world.

This version of curry is a gloriously spicy favourite and riot with flavour. The rich curry sauce is full of plump lamb koftas, gently simmering in the sauce and cooked to meltingly tender perfection. Take your time to cook this dish, wiling away an early evening as the mouth watering aromas of this heavenly dish float through the house… the longer the dish is allowed to simmer on a low to medium heat, the more intense the flavours.. this is one for the slow food movement!

The Asian population in Kenya is part of a very early expansion of foreign communities on the African continent. From Sikhs to Hindus, Ismailis to Goans, this growing diaspora living in Kenya are generally spread across 3 major cities and many of the families to arrive on the continent still have third and fourth generations thriving in their entrepreneurial spirit.

The attraction to the plains of Africa, namely Kenya, was the potential for work. In 1896, there was a need for a hard working, skilled labour force to build the British Colonial railway stretching the length of Kenya to Uganda. The cost of laying the 1,000 kilometres of track eventually far exceeded expectations, and opposition members in the British Parliament denounced the railway project, quickly referring to it as the ‘Lunatic Line.’

The most famous and evocative story to emerge from the project was ‘The Man Eaters of Tsavo,’ based on a true story of two man eating lions that killed 28 workmen during the construction of a rail bridge crossing, before being killed by Colonel Patterson. The story was made into a Hollywood production ..’The Ghost and the Darkness.’

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So, now that you know the history of the dish you are about to create, you must know the wine pairings!

The Taste Safari Wine Pairing in Conjunction with Brew Bistro’s “The Wine Shop”

Hardys VR 2011 Shiraz

photo[3]Featuring great plum and ripe blackberry fruits with subtle black pepper and a soft oak character. Medium to full bodied. Ideal with full flavoured dishes.

For those looking for a lighter wine with this dish, try

 

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Kim Crawford Pinot Noir 2011

A light bodied easy drinking wine, with strong berry notes. A nice wine that won’t compete heavily with the spices of the curry.

 

 

 

 

 

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For the koftas:

500gms fresh lamb mince

1  bunch  of finely chopped fresh coriander

1 cups of finely chopped red onion

1 ½ tsp of ground cumin powder

1 ½ tsp of ground coriander powder

1 tsp of salt

2 tsp of finely chopped green chilli / 1 ½ tsp of red chilli powder

3 tbs of ground sesame seeds

1 egg

2 tbs of vegetable oil

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For the curry sauce:

3 tbs of ghee

1 tbs of cumin seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

2 sticks cinammon

5 green cardamons

2 cups of liquidised red onion ( these can be easily liquidised by chopping small chunks into a liquidiser with ½ cup of water to aid)

1 ½ tbs of finely chopped garlic

1 ½ tbs of finely chopped ginger

1 tbs of finely chopped green chilli

2 ½ cups of very finely chopped tomatoes

1 tbs of ground coriander powder

1 tbs of ground cumin powder

1 ½ tsp of turmeric powder

1 tsp of garam masala.

3 tbs of natural yoghurt

1 tbs of butter

Prepare the Koftas:

Mix together all the ingredients for the koftas, almost kneading the meat to create a well combined mixture with a firm consistency for rolling into small balls. If the mixture needs more liquid, you may add one more egg.

Lightly oil your palms, and taking a tablespoon of the lamb mixture, roll into approximately 20 small round balls. Set aside and cover with a damp cloth.

Prepare the Curry:

In a deep pan, heat the ghee until melted.

Add the cumin and fry lightly for 1 minute, fenugreek seeds, cardamon seeds and cinammon sticks, taking care not to burn any of them. The idea is to infuse the fragrance of the spices into the oil.

Add the liquidised onions to this and cook these down to a light brown colour on a medium heat. If you find the onions sticking to the base of the pan, add a tiny amount of oil that will help you to scrape it off easily

Once golden – browned, add the ginger, garlic, green chillis and fry lightly for 2 minutes

Add the tomatoes, salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala and stir well. Let this cook gently for 4 – 5 minutes.

Top with ¾ cup of hot water, cover and cook on a low- medium heat for at least 40 minutes. During this time, after every 7-8 minutes intervals add ½ cup of hot water to the masala gravy until the colour is a rich deep red – brown. You will know your masala is ready when the ghee rises to the surface. This is a very important stage, don’t rush it, because if you do, your curry will not have the richness that is key to the whole dish.

Once it reaches this stage, gently place the koftas in the gravy sauce and top with 3 cups of boiling hot water. Cover and cook on a low – medium heat for a further 25 minutes. Do not stir for the first 6 – 7 minutes allowing the koftas to harden slightly before they are very gently moved around to allow for even cooking.

The curry should be a rich reddish – brown hue and the koftas slightly hardened and springy to the touch.

Just before serving, stir in yoghurt and the butter, mixing in well and garnish generously with  the finely chopped fresh coriander.

Serve with delicious buttered nan or warmed, buttered tortillas if you can’t get your hands on any nan!

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