Lamb Nimbo

Nimbo Curry Recipe

Here’s a tangy and uniquely special curry featuring shatkora (an Asian citrus fruit very popular in Bangladesh).

On a visit to the newly opened Kingsway Lounge in Warrington, owner and chef Mohammed Ali demonstrated their Lamb Nimbo menu offering, which I was fortunate enough to film (watch video). I’ve based this recipe as closely as possible to the Kingsway Lounge version, with a couple of tweaks to make it more suitable for cooking at home.

The word ‘nimbo’ translates in Hindi or Bengali to lemon.

Medium Hot.  Serves 1-2.  Pictured above: Lamb Nimbo

This is a new recipe not in any of my current books. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

  • 3-4 TBSP Oil (45-60ml)
  • ½ tsp Black Mustard Seeds
  • 5-6 Onion segments (taken from the outer layers of a medium/large onion)
  • 1 large segment each of Green and Red Pepper (approx. 4cm in length)
  • 1 TBSP Ginger/Garlic paste
  • 1 tsp Mix Powder
  • 1 tsp Chilli Powder (or to taste)
  • ¾ tsp Tandoori Masala
  • ¼ tsp Salt
  • 3½ TBSP Tomato Paste (see Notes)
  • 2½ TBSP Shatkora Pickle (see Notes)
  • 175-200g Pre-Cooked Lamb, Chicken, Tikka, or your own choice of main ingredient
  • 280ml+ Base Gravy
  • 3½ TBSP Single Cream, Evaporated Milk, or a mixture of both
  • 1 tsp Sugar
  • A generous sprinkling of fresh coriander

METHOD

  1. Heat up the oil in a frying pan on high heat, then add the black mustard seeds.
  2. When the seeds start to crackle and pop add the onion and pepper segments and fry for about a minute or until lightly charred, stirring frequently.
  3. Remove from heat temporarily for 10 seconds then add the ginger/garlic paste and resume cooking on a medium high heat.
  4. Stir for 15 seconds or until the ginger/garlic paste has started to brown.
  5. Now mix in the mix powder, chilli powder, tandoori masala, and salt. Also add a small amount of base gravy or water (e.g. 30ml) to quench the spices, giving them time to cook properly without sticking and burning. Fry for 15-20 seconds, stir continually.
  6. Add the tomato paste and the shatkora pickle, and the main ingredient (lamb works nicely).
  7. Stir together and leave for another 15 seconds or so. Turn the heat up to high.
  1. Next add 75ml base gravy. Stir everything together then leave to cook for 30-45 seconds, until the sauce thickens up, evidence of oil floating to the surface, and little craters forming around the edges of the pan.
  2. Repeat step 8, again adding 75ml of base gravy. We’re adding a little a time so that the temperature is not hindered and so the sauce can caramelise better.
  3. Add 100ml of base gravy, the cream/evaporated milk, and the sugar.
  4. Stir everything together then leave to cook for 4-5 minutes (stirring only once or twice), or until the sauce has thickened up, and caramelisation is showing around the edges of the pan.
  5. Add a generous sprinkling of fresh coriander along with some extra base gravy if you want to thin the sauce to your liking.
  6. Mix then cook for another 20 seconds.
  7. Done!

NOTES

  • Lamb goes very nicely with this curry, but you can use any main ingredient you like. See my recipes for pre-cooked chicken, chicken tikka, lamb, and keema.
  • For the tomato paste, mix one part tomato purée with 3 parts of water to form the total amount required. Alternatively, use passata or blended plum tomatoes as the full amount specified.
  • Shatkora is a citrus fruit that’s very popular in Bangladesh, and In the UK the pickle is sold in many Asian supermarkets. The fruit is also often available in frozen form, but for this recipe I’m using the pickled variety. It’s worth grabbing a jar if you can find it. Lime pickle may be used as a somewhat inferior substitute, in which case use about half the amount because of its bitterness.
  • All spoon measurements are level.
Watch the Video

Books by Richard Sayce

Indian Restaurant Curry at Home Volume 1 by Richad Sayce
Indian Restaurant Curry at Home Volume 2 by Richad Sayce
Curry Compendium by Richard Sayce

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