This is a recipe from ‘Original Flava’ – an excellent starter for West Indian cookery. I didn’t follow the recipe in the book (do I ever) but it reflects my own tastes and also what is available in the garden. I am looking out recipes to use up the last of the maincrop potatoes for last year, and this one fit the bill well. Also, who knew that adding creamed coconut or coconut milk to mashed potato was so good.
Remember to start the night before, and then allow a couple of hours cooking time on the day of eating.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1.2kg mutton, boned and diced
- 1 tbsp West Indian curry powder (from seasoned pioneers)
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- salt and pepper (approx 1 tsp salt and pepper to taste)
- vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 200ml coconut milk
- 125ml water
- 1/2 tsp scotch bonnet pepper paste, or to taste
- 2 carrots or 1 turnip, diced.
- 6+ large maincrop potatoes, such as Maris Piper or Arran Victory, peeled and roughly chopped
- 125ml coconut milk
- 1 tbsp butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- A pinch of thyme leaves
METHOD:
- Put the mutton in a plastic container with the curry powder, dried thyme, ginger, allspice, salt and pepper, and leave in the fridge overnight.
- In a large cooking pot, heat the oil and then gently fry the onion and garlic until they are soft
- Add the spiced mutton, and fry until browned.
- Add the 200m coconut milk, water, scotch bonnet and chopped carrots/turnip and mix. Cook on a low heat for a couple of hours until the meat is very tender. Adjust seasoning if required.
- Preheat the oven to 180C – Gas 4
- Steam the potatoes for around 15 minutes, until soft and cooked through
- Mash the potatoes with 125ml coconut milk, butter, salt and pepper, and a pinch of thyme leaves. (The original recipe includes chilli flakes, but I think it is better to have the potato as a contrast, not so spicy)
- Put the stewed mutton in a casserole dish or deep pie dish, top with the mashed potato, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the mashed potato is beginning to brown.
I served this with sprouts. It would also be good with a spinach side dish.