Growing up in PNG, I love coconut-milk recipes. This one blends my PNG and Chinese influences. It\’s a meal I had often as a kid and one that I now cook for my own kids, especially in Winter. We usually have leftovers, which go in the freezer for another night. This requires your biggest pot. I don\’t use the pressure cooker as most veggies get too soft in the time required for the meat and barley. (The barley is a recent addition.) I\’m also not exact on the quantities because I just wing it, like my mum. I\’ll update later if I get round to measuring.
- 2 cans(800ml?) coconut milk. (If you prefer less coconut milk, you could substitute 1 can with water but IMO it doesn\’t taste so good.)
- Clive of India curry powder (1 tbs?) Alternatively, use 2 tsp each of turmeric, cumin, ground coriander and dried fennel
- fish sauce (1 tbs?)
- dark mushroom soy sauce (1 tbs?)
- 2 onions, diced
- garlic and ginger
- 600g lamb, cut into strips
- 1 large eggplant, diced – you could even use 2 eggplants if you don\’t have many other veggies to add.
- 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 red capsicum, diced
- optional: other veg such as zucchini, celery, carrot, sweet potato
- 4 tbs pearled barley or 2 tbs cornflour (to thicken)
- optional: chilli (obviously I leave this out because of the kids)
Method:
- Fry garlic, onion and ginger
- Add the eggplant to soften it, stirring occasionally.
- Add the meat to brown it
- Add the spices, then the coconut milk and sauces (fish sauce and mushroom soy). Also add the barley, if using.
- Simmer on low to medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the barley from settling and sticking to the bottom.
- Then add all the other veggies (and cornflour if not using barley) to cook for a further 20 minutes.