Slow-Cooked Lamb & Chickpea Curry (Bengali Mangsho Ghugni)
/
Sustainable Bengali Lamb & Chickpea Curry made with steel food cans of diced tomatoes and chickpeas. Served with rice, garnished with cilantro and lime wedges.
It’s the middle of April and you know what that means? It’s Earth Day Week!
One of my favorite ways to celebrate Earth Day is to make recipes that emphasize sustainability. So while Adrian was busy outdoors with a beach cleanup this weekend, I was doing my part in the kitchen by making this awesome Lamb & Chickpea Curry!
By using three steel food cans in its ingredient list, including diced tomatoes, chickpeas, and tomato paste, this delicious, mouth-watering curry represents sustainability to me, as the cans are not only made of up to 35% recycled steel, but they can be recycled over and over again, with no downgrading of material.
Equally important, steel food cans are amazing by saving over 2.2 billion pounds of food waste each year. While it sounds like an incredible amount of waste when you think about it, it totally makes sense why steel food cans are food waste superheroes – they keep foods fresh longer, and are ready to use when you need to use them. No additional waste or special care is needed!
If you’re looking for other ways to celebrate Earth Day, look no further than this recipe, and check out this Recycling Tips page on how to choose steel food cans.
Slow-Cooked Lamb & Chickpea Curry (Bengali Mangsho Ghugni)
Adapted from Thali by Maunika Gowardhan
Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 garlic cloves
2 tbsp fresh ginger, roughly chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
2 dried bay leaves
4 cloves
4 green cardamom pods, whole
1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
2 bird’s-eye chillies, cut lengthways
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ to 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder, depending on spice preference
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 tsp tomato paste, from a can
1 ½ lb boneless leg of lamb, cut into bite-size chunks
2 cups water
1 tsp sugar
Kosher salt, to taste
1 (14.5 oz) can chickpeas, drained
½ tsp garam masala
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
To Serve
Roughly chopped cilantro
Lime wedges
Basmati or jasmine rice
Preparation Steps
In a blender, blend the garlic and ginger to a smooth paste, then set aside.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the bay leaves and whole spices and, as they begin to sizzle, add the white onions. Fry for 6–8 minutes, stirring often, until golden.
Add the garlic and ginger paste, along with the green chillies, and fry for a few seconds, then add the ground coriander, cumin and chili powder and stir well. Add the tomatoes and cook for 4 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add a splash of water if it is sticking to the base. Add the tomato paste and stir well.
Now add the lamb and stir to coat in the spices, sauteeing for 5–6 minutes. Add the water and sugar and season to taste. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over a low heat for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Add the chickpeas, cover and continue cooking for 20–25 minutes, or until the lamb is tender. Stir a couple of times to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the garam masala and red onion.
Turn off the heat and serve warm over rice. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.
If you loved this recipe, you will love my recipes for Indian Spiced Meatball Curry, Trader Joe’s Thai Chicken Curry, and Indian Spiced Vegetable Soup!
