'My China's' lamb special

Henrie Geyser

Now that the Festive Season is over it was my full intention to write about lighter meals this month so that we can all give our bodies a break from all the rich foods we consumed during the holidays, but, alas, like all good intentions — this one was also doomed to failure.

And the main reason for this is that just recently I had one of the tastiest lamb stews I've eaten in years at the Simon's Town home of my Lebanese friends, Lawrence and Stella Kalil, both acclaimed makers of great food themselves.

But this time round the lamb stew was made in Franschhoek by two other friends, Bob and Helen who happily carted this delicious meal all the way to the luncheon venue.

Because we had such a fun day drinking wine and eating good food, Helen decided that her nameless stew should in future be known as My China's lamb special, in honour of Lawrence's popular greeting, as in "Howzit My China".

So there it is — My China's Lamb Special — one of the tastiest, easiest to make lamb stews you will find anywhere…

For the stew you need:

# 1kg stewing lamb on the bone

# 2 large onions, chopped

# 2 green chillies, seeded and chopped

# 15ml fresh ginger, grated

# 3 large cloves of garlic, crushed

# 5ml sugar

# 30ml curry powder

# 125ml dried apricots, soaked in hot water

# 100ml sultanas

# 30ml brown vinegar

# 2 large tomatoes peeled and chopped

# 500ml chicken stock

# Oil for frying

Instructions:

Heat oil in pan, brown the meat and set aside.

Fry onions and chillies till golden.

Add ginger, garlic, sugar and curry powder, and then fry for two minutes.

Transfer the meat and the onion mixture to a slow cook pot or potjie.

Add fruit, vinegar, tomatoes and stock and let it simmer away for one to two hours or until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.

Serve with rice and crusty bread to mop up the gravy.