August: Injera and Lamb Stew
Serves 4
Estimated time for preparation and cooking: 1 hour and 30 minutes
This classic lamb curry, paired with injera, was prepared by an Eritrean young man and young woman who access our services in the Croydon Advice and Support Hub. The young woman says she likes to cook with others because she enjoys eating with others, while the young man enjoys helping. One young person who ate the meal said afterwards, “it’s not beautiful, it is perfect!”.
Ingredients
2 large potatoes
2 large garlic cloves
1 large onion
800g of lamb, cut into 3 cm pieces
1 cucumber
1 iceberg lettuce
2 medium sized tomatoes
0.5 cup of olive oil
1 can of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp berbere (a spice mix made of paprika together with other spices like garlic, ginger, fenugreek, cumin, cardamom, black pepper and chilli pepper which gives it a kick).
1 can of chopped tomatoes
200 ml water
Salt
Injera - (a sour fermented pancake-like flatbread with a slightly spongy texture). Search 'where to buy injera near me' online to find a local bakery, purchase here, or alternatively substitute for flatbread.
Recipe
1) Preparing your ingredients
a) Wash, peel and cut the potatoes into large pieces.
b) Mince or finely chop the garlic.
c) Cut the onions into small pieces.
d) Dice the lamb pieces, then separate into a bowl and cover.
e) Wash and cut the cucumbers, fresh tomatoes and lettuce into desired sizes for your side salad.
2. Creating the broth
a) Add olive oil to a pot on a medium heat. Once simmering, sauté your onions until they brown. This should take around 10 minutes.
b) Add your berbere spice mix to the pot – the more you put in, the spicier it will be!
c) Add about 200 ml of water to the mix to help it liquidate.
3) Cooking the potatoes and lamb
a) Once you see the mix of berbere, water and onions has thickened, add the lamb and potatoes into the pot.
b) Add your canned chopped tomatoes, salt and garlic, and give the ingredients a good stir.
c) Cover the pot and leave on a medium heat for 40 minutes.
d) After 40 minutes, uncover and use a knife to check if the potatoes are soft. If not, cook for another 5-10 minutes with the pot covered.
4) Preparing the salad
a) Whilst the lamb and potatoes cook, mix your cucumbers, fresh tomatoes and lettuce together in a bowl.
b) Add a small amount of olive oil and salt before mixing into the salad.
c) Cover and leave in the fridge.
5) Plate up!
a) By this point, the lamb and potatoes should be cooked through.
b) You can either plate the lamb and potato stew on top of your injera (so the sauces soak through) or serve it on the side. You can use the injera to pick up the lamb and potato pieces.
c) Serve together with your side salad.