I love Indian food and definitely can't get enough of it living in Switzerland, but Dave and I always go for curry when we're in London. I've experimented quite a bit with curry at home and find it definitely takes practice and a lot of trial and error to get it just how you like it.

I've stuck to making Thai curries lately as they seem easier to me and aren't as heavy. But I saw this recipe in my Donna Hay magazine and the photo made it look so delicious. I don't think mine turned out quite as appealing, at least from the photo, but it was nice to have a heartier curry for a change and while it may not have looked as pretty, it still tasted pretty good.

Lamb Potato and Pea Curry

2 Tbsp olive oil
3 large potato, cut in large cubes
1 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2/3-1 lb lamb stew meat/cubes
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp curry powder (of your desired heat)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1/4c coconut milk
1c frozen or canned peas
crushed red pepper, if desired
fresh coriander, to serve
Jasmine rice, to serve

Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the potato and cook for 15 minutes or until tender, stirring so they don't burn. Remove from the pan.


Add the remaining oil to the pan and increase the heat to high. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 3 minutes or until soft. Add the lamb, garlic, coriander, cumin, curry powder and chili and cook for 3 minutes or until browned.

Add the tomato, coconut milk, peas and potato and cook for 5 minutes. Top with coriander and serve over rice.

Results: I played around with the seasonings a bit and ended up adding quite a bit of various curry powders and garam marsala (more than listed above). It still wasn't getting the heat I wanted so I continued to add crushed red pepper. I would love to take an Indian cooking class because Indian curries are really hard for me to get the perfect amount of heat without completely upsetting my stomach. Even with this one, it still didn't have the amount of heat I was looking for, but it was still good. I think I prefer Thai curries though and using paste may be a better idea. This was a nice change from the curries I usually make, but I found it rather heavy with all the potatoes, especially since the potatoes seem to be so starchy here in Switzerland. I think I'd use half as much next time and cut them into smaller pieces.

Based on a recipe in Donna Hay magazine, issue 45.