Venison Curry

So I was lucky enough to get my hands on some good quality Venison.  I wanted to try something different with it, so I thought id try a curry!  Now venison is such a nice flavour I wanted to make sure that the flavour of the meat wasn't lost in curry, so I decided on a tomato based madras.  I also didn't want to cook it for too long as it is very lean and would go tough.  I decided to use my cast iron pot and cook for about 2 hours.

Portions: 4-6 Portions

Preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking: 1 hour and 30 minutes -2 hours

Ingredients

Venison

• 600g stewing venison cut into even cubes

Dry Spices

• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp chilli, ground
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin, ground
• 1 tsp turmeric, ground

Masala Paste

• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 large red chilies finely chopped
• 1 green chilli finely chopped
• 1 tbsp water

To Cook

• 2 tbsp oil
• 300g canned tomatoes, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp natural yoghurt

Method

1. Start by grinding the dry spices in a mortar pestle or a coffee grinder.
2. To make the masala paste, place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree to a smooth paste, or ground them together in a mortar and pestle, make sure that there are no large pieces of onion or garlic in the mixture.
3. Place the oil in a large saucepan and place it over a moderate to high heat. When the oil is hot add the dried spices and fry them for a minute until aromatic, be careful not to burn them. Add the masala paste to the pan and stir it so it is combined with the dry spices, fry it for 2 more minutes. Place the venison into pan so that it gets coated with the paste, cook it for a few minutes stirring occasionally so that the venison is brown. Stir in the tomatoes and add around half a cup of water to the curry. Reduce the heat to the lowest temperature and leave it to cook for 1 1/2 -2 hours, stirring regularly, add more water if it becomes dry. The meat should be tender and the sauce thick, stir in the yoghurt and cook the curry for a few more minutes.

Serve with rice and poppadoms.  I think a nice riatta or mango chutney would go very well with this dish.

Enjoy

Ant