20 Jan 2008

AFGHAN LAMB STEW WITH SPINACH


I have never cooked, or eaten Afghan food before, and I obviously didn't know what to expect. A fellow foodie gave me the link to an Internet site called in mamas kitchen and this is where the above recipe came from.
The stew is very easy to prepare and has wonderful spices added to the rich tomato sauce, namely, cinnamon, cardamom, chilli powder and turmeric. If you find the sauce isn't spicy enough then I would just add more to taste.
I cooked my stew in the slow cooker for about 5 hours on high and the meat was meltingly tender and the sauce wonderfully rich.
After cooling, the stew can be stored in the fridge for a day or two and then it will taste even better.
When you are ready to eat the stew, reheat, add the spinach, swirl the yoghurt through the sauce and top with toasted pine nuts, serve with boiled rice and naan bread.
Would I make it again? Perhaps not. I used the original recipe (scaled down) for test purposes and found the sauce a little light in the spice department, although I loved the spinach, yoghurt and pine nuts combo. I think for the finished dish to look good when it is plated up the rice and stew possibly needs to be served in separate bowls.