Curry for Chuseok...

Happy Chuseok to you all, I hope that your pancakes are crispy and that your kimchi is firm. Here in the Ajosshi household things are a little different, due to work commitments we're staying in Seoul and not able to go down to Chungju to see the relatives. So today before my beloved set out to for work (catch her performing as the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet at the National Theatre for the next week or so), I decided to whip up a spicy little Chuseok treat.



Smothered lamb adapted from a recipe by Madhur Jaffrey.

You will need:
A few handfuls of lamb chopped into bite size chunks
Three peeled and finely chopped tomatoes
Two handfuls of finely chopped coriander leaves (cilantro to our Italian and North American friends)
A finely chopped onion
A large thumb's worth of finely chopped ginger
Two finely sliced hot green chillies (only if you like it spicy)
Two chopped green peppers
One chopped aubergine (eggplant)
Two teaspoons of garam masala
One teaspoon of cumin
One half teaspoon of turmeric
As much salt as you feel necessary (I use about half a teaspoons worth)
Four small pots of plain yoghurt (strawberry flavour is not an option)

Mix all these together and then crush and chop up six cloves of garlic.

Heat a large saucepan and add a few glugs of oil, gently fry the garlic and then add in all the other ingredients. Add a glass of water, bring to the boil and then let it simmer slowly for two hours (be sure to stir every so often so that nothing sticks and burns).

Go watch a film, preferably with zombies in - at 126 minutes Romero's Dawn of the Dead will probably be a good option. If reanimated corpses aren't your thing then Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain runs 122 minutes and contains practically no traces of the undead.

After your cinematic interlude. Thoroughly wash and then gently chop two handfuls of spinach. Add these to the curry and allow them to wilt into submission.

Finally turn the heat up high to get rid of any excess moisture (or don't if you like a sloppier curry) and grind in as much black pepper as you feel appropriate.



Serve with rice and suitable breads. We settled on whole wheat chapattis.

Eat with your fingers...