Sunday curry with fresh bread in the mud oven

On the weekend Rob wakes up at 6am to light the mud oven. Then around 8am he prepares the dough for the bread, which is left to rest and rise until the oven is ready - around 11am. In the meantime he prepares a spicy curry, sometimes using Maroccan flavours, often served with cous cous, is delicious with fresh bread or rice.



To serve 4 people.
To start off some freshly dried bay leaves and a cinnamon stick.



Fresh grated nutmeg.



Cardomon seeds.



Tamarind pulp - which comes in a block with seeds like this or already pureed in a jar. If you buy it in a block then you must reconstitute it with hot water and leave to soak for a few minutes before pushing the pulp through a strainer. This adds a lovely sour taste.









Add the meat, chunks of beef or Lamb.
Also add a good size spoon of Curry paste and mix to coat the meat. We use a good quality Tikka Masala paste which is basically made up of garlic, ginger, coriander, onion, lemon.

Then add a can of chickpeas.





Cloves.



Can of tomatoes.
Mix all together coating the meat thoroughly.
Add a chunk of butter.
Lid on and it is ready to go into the mud oven to cook for 4-5 hours.



Its all about the bread of course. Eat one while its hot and save the other for the curry.









Take out of the oven after 5 hours - perfect. If you want to do this in a conventional oven - then put it into a 200 degree C, and lower the heat to 170C after about an hour.



Any slow cooked spicy meat dish would be suitable to adjust to this recipe - A tagine for Example is a spicy Maroccan slow cooked meat dish - Usually with Lamb, often with chick peas and sometimes with fruits such as pears. Other slow cooked african spicy dishes or indian spiced curries are wonderful to experiment with.

Slow cooked Spicy Beef with Chick peas

To serve 4 people.
3-4 freshly dried bay leaves and a cinnamon stick.
1/2 a Fresh grated nutmeg.
1/2 tsp Cardomon seeds.
4-5 Cloves.
1/4 cup Tamarind pulp
Add the meat, chunks of beef or Lamb. 2- cups of cubed meat
Also add a good size spoon of Curry paste - Tikka Masala paste which is basically made up of garlic, ginger, coriander, onion, lemon.
Then add a can of chickpeas.
Can of tomatoes.
Add a chunk of butter.

Mix together and slow cook in a cassarole dish with lid on at 170 degrees C for 4-5 hours.