Lamb Curry in Pita

Authentic South African lamb curry, made with leftover lamb and served in a crispy pita bread – the easiest mid-week supper ever!

When you are only cooking for 2 people it is a bit of a waste to make an entire leg of lamb.  Unfortunately, Graham loves lamb so it does feature on the menu quite often.  I’m never quite sure what to do with the leftovers.  My Yorkshire heritage won’t let me throw them away, and there are only so many cold lamb sandwiches you can eat.

I’ve devised this recipe for leftover lamb curry, based on a traditional South African curry recipe and it is delicious.  Bonus – Graham gets to eat lamb more often, and I don’t have to throw anything away.

An additional bonus is that it is made in an electric pressure cooker so it is ready to serve in next to no time.

A brief history of South African curry

In England, there are many different curries – Korma, Madras, Tikka Masala, Jalfrezi, Vindaloo… the list goes on.   In South Africa, there are 2 main variants, Durban curry, and Cape Malay curry.

Durban curry, probably the only curry in the world to be named after a city. It is a reddish-coloured, slightly oily and extremely hot and spicy curry, its origins going back to 1860 when the first Indian labourers arrived to work on the sugar plantations.   Legend has it that when the labourers went to work they took left-over curry from the previous night’s supper for their lunch.  Instead of a container, they carried their curry in a hollowed-out loaf of bread, and so the famous South African bunny chow was born.

Cape Malay curry is a much milder curry, known for combining sweet and savoury flavours. It often contains dried fruit such as apricots and sweet spices such as cinnamon.  Traditionally the spices are fried in a little oil to release their flavour, before being mixed with the rest of the ingredients

Cape Malay curry has its origins in the cuisine of the slaves who were brought from Indonesia and parts of Africa in the early 17th century to work on the farms in Cape Town.

I have based my lamb curry on the traditional Cape Malay recipe, using Mango Chutney to provide a hint of sweetness.

How to make lamb curry in pita bread

Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients. Don’t be put off by the long list – a lot of the items are spices and vegetables that you probably have in your cupboard anyway.

Spices

• 2 Tablespoons each
  • medium strength Curry Powder
  • Garam Masala
• 1 teaspoon each
  • Chilli flakes (optional – this adds the heat)
  • Mustard Seeds
  • Fennel Seeds
  • ground Corriander
  • Turmeric
  • Cinnamon (optional – if you don’t like cinnamon you can leave it out).
• 2 Bay Leaves remove before serving

Lamb

• 2 cups cooked Roast Lamb cubed
• 2 medium Potatoes cut into 2 cm dice
• 1 largish Carrot cut into 1 cm dice
• 1 stick Celery cut into 1 cm slices
• 2 medium Onions cut into 1 cm dice
• 2 cloves Garlic chopped
• 2 fresh Tomatoes chopped
• 1 400g tin Chopped Tomatoes
• 1/2 cup Frozen Petit Pois or Garden Peas
• 2 Tablespoons Mango Chutney
• 2 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil for frying spices and onion
• 2 cups Chicken Stock You can substitute chicken stock with 2 stock cubes dissolved in boiling water
• 2 Tablespoons Cornflour mixed with a little water for thickening
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 to 8 pockets Pita bread for serving

Steps

Peel and chop the potatoes, carrots, celery, onions and tomatoes.

Heat up your pressure cooker (use the browning function), tip in all the spices and fry them in a little hot oil for about 1 minutes.  Keep stirring them as you fry so that they don’t stick. Frying the spices releases the flavour and makes for a tastier dish.

Stir the meat into the spices to ensure that all pieces are well coated with the spice mixture

Add the chopped vegetables (with the exception of the potatoes), the tinned tomatoes and the chicken stock and let it all come to the boil. Then put the lid on and set the required function. I use the meat function with the timer set for 12 minutes.

Once the 12 minutes is up, release the steam and add the potatoes. I find that potatoes need less cooking time than the carrots. Adding them halfway through the cooking time will ensure that the potatoes keep their texture and don’t become mushy.

Set the pressure cooker for a further 10 minutes on the meat function.

Release the pressure and stir in the frozen peas. Remove the bay leaes.

Thicken the cooking juices with the cornflour which has been mixed with a couple of tablespoons of water. You may find you don’t need all the cornflour, so add it slowly. The amount you will need depends on the amount of liquid that is in the pan. You are looking for the consistency of thick gravy.

Warm the pita bread in the oven or microwave, fill with the curry mixture and serve.

Don’t have an electric pressure cooker?

You can make this on the stove top in a suitably big enough pan with a tight-fitting lid.  Just follow the first 6 steps of the recipe.   When you get to point 7 just let it simmer until the carrots and celery are almost done then add the potatoes and simmer until they are soft.  Then continue from point 9.

If you are thinking of getting an electric pressure cooker then scroll down to the Equipment section. I’ve included a link to electric pressure cookers on Amazon that you may be interested in.

I’ve had mine for ages and use it all the time.  It has settings that allow you to use it either as a pressure cooker or a slow cooker, which makes it great value for money.  Two appliances for the price of one!

Equipment

To make Lamb Curry in Pita you will need the following equipment. In case you are missing something I have included some links to items on Amazon that I either use myself or personally recommend.

• Electric pressure cooker

Did you know that you can get free delivery from Amazon on any item displaying the Prime logo. Join Amazon Prime today and save on your next purchase. They’ll deliver right to your door, the very next day. Or you can specify an ‘Amazon Day‘ and all your orders will arrive together on the same day.

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Recipe – Lamb curry in pita

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Lamb curry in Pita

Spicy lamb curry served in pita bread

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: South African inspired

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 806kcal

Author: VJ

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked Roast Lamb cubed
• 2 medium Potatoes cut into 2 cm dice
• 1 largish Carrot cut into 1 cm dice
• 1 stick Celery cut into 1 cm slices
• 2 medium Onions cut into 1 cm dice
• 2 cloves Garlic chopped
• 2 fresh Tomatoes chopped
• 1 400g tin Chopped Tomatoes
• 1/2 cup Frozen Petit Pois or Garden Peas
• 2 Tablespoons Mango Chutney
• 2 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil for frying spices and onion
• 2 cups Chicken Stock You can substitute chicken stock with 2 stock cubes dissolved in boiling water
• 2 Tablespoons Cornflour mixed with a little water for thickening
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 to 8 pockets Pita bread for serving

Spices

• 2 Tablespoons medium strength Curry Powder
• 2 Tablespoons Garam Masala
• 1 teaspoon Chilli flakes optional
• 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• 1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground Corriander
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon optional
• 2 Bay Leaves remove before serving

Instructions

• Peel and chop the vegetables.
• Heat the oil in your pressure cooker. Add all the spices and fry, stirring continuously, for 1 minute
• Add the meat and stir well to coat
• Add the onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes (fresh and tinned), garlic, chutney and chicken stock.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Set the pressure to the meat function and cook under pressure for 12 minutes.
• Release the steam, add the potatoes and cook on the same function for a further 10 minutes.
• Add the frozen peas and remove the bay leaves.
• Add the cornflour and water mixture slowly, stirring continuously,and allow to simmer for a few minutes until thickened.
• Warm the pita bread in the oven for a few minutes and then fill the warmed pita bread with the curry mixture and serve.

Notes

My pressure cooker has a browning function which I use for frying the spices.  If you don’t have a pressure cooker then use a large frying pan to do this.

Since the meat is already cooked, it will only require a short cooking time.  The meat function on the pressure cooker is ideal for this, or you could use the vegetable option.  If you don’t hae a pressure cooker, you can use a large saucepan and simmer for 12 minutes before adding the potatoes.

I find that if I add the potatoes at the beginning of the cooking process they over-cook, which is why I add them half way through

When thickening with the cornflour mixture, you may find that you don’t need it all.  The amount you will need depends on the liquid that is in the pot.  Drizzle it in slowly, stirring until the desired consistency is reached and discard any remaining cornflour.

Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves before serving

You could serve this on a bowl of white rice instead of in the pita bread

The calories have been calculated based on 1 pita bread per person.

The calorie count has been calculated using an on-line calculator and is provided for information purposes only.  If the calorie count is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, please don’t forget to give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you’d like to get in touch, you can email me on [email protected] I’d love to hear from you.

Related Recipes

You may enjoy my other curry recipes:

• Easy lamb curry
• Bunny Chow
• Vetkoek and curried mince

Easy Lamb Curry

Easy homemade lamb curry. Packed with vegetables and bursting with flavour.

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Bunny Chow

A spicy lamb curry, served in half a hollowed-out loaf. Try it, you'll love it.

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South African Vetkoek filled with Curried Mince

Traditional South African Vetkoek (Fat Cake) filled with curried beef mince. A delicious Saturday supper.

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What do you make with leftover lamb?  Let me know in the comments below.  I’d love to hear from you.