Recipe of the week: Shelina Permalloo’s Mauritian mutton curry

Taken from Community Comfort: Recipes From The Diaspora, by Riaz Phillips.

Mutton is a wonderfully rich meat that can handle a lot of spices and chilli really well. This is the dish that I cooked in the final of MasterChef. I never thought that one of our family’s classic curries would be enough to secure me the title.

For me it is the ultimate comfort food, served alongside soft fluffy roti bread, pickles and chutney. It tastes even better the next day as all the spices harmonise and the flavours go deep into the meat.

Serves 4-6

• 3tbs vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2.5cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 red bird’s eye chillies, finely chopped
• 12 curry leaves
• 4tbs Mauritian curry powder (or medium masala curry powder)
• ½tsp fenugreek seed
• 500g mutton shoulder, chopped into 2.5cm cubes
• Half a 400g tin of plum tomatoes
• 300ml water
• 3tbs freshly chopped coriander, plus extra to garnish
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and gently fry the onion, garlic, ginger and chillies until soft. Add the curry leaves, curry powder and fenugreek seeds and continue frying for one minute.

Add the mutton and cook for 15 minutes, turning frequently, until evenly browned on all sides, then add the tomatoes, water and coriander and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat, cover and leave to simmer for 2½-3 hours, or until the mutton is tender. Alternatively, make this dish in a pressure cooker and cook for 30-40 minutes until tender.

Taste and adjust the seasoning, garnish with more chopped coriander and serve.