Nepali Venison Curry

The recipe this is based on used goat but after having the most amazing venison curry in the Yak and Yeti in Finsbury Park, London I decided to use that instead. This tastes amazing!

Ingredients

• 450g of diced Venison
• 4 tablespoons of Mustard Oil 
• 5 cloves of Garlic
• 3 Tomatoes
• 1 Red Onion
• 1 three inch piece of Ginger
• 3 to 6 hot chillies
• 235ml/1 cup of Water
• 8 Fenugreek seeds (or there abouts)
• 1 to 2 Star Anise
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 2 whole dried Chillies
• 1/2 tablespoon of Turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of Asafetida
• 2 teaspoons of ground Cumin
• 2 teaspoons of ground Coriander
• 1/2 tablespoon of Curry Powder
• 1 tablespoon of Salt
• Fresh Coriander for garnish

Serves three to four

Method

Put the venison in a bowl with 2 tbsp of the mustard oil. Add 2 crushed cloves of garlic and 1/2 of the salt. Give a good mix. Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge over night.

Take a cast iron griddle/grill pan and heat it up. Cut the tomatoes in half and the red onions into wedges. Place them on the griddle pan along with the sliced ginger, fresh chillies and two more garlic cloves mashed. Heat until they begin to char (8 to 10 minutes). Alternatively, you can put all of the above on a tray under the grill.

Allow to cool slightly then put in a blender with the water. Blend until nice and smooth.

Put the remaining oil in a wok/frying pan and heat over a medium heat. Add the fenugreek, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon and dried chilles. Cook for a minute or two. Add the venison and fry until all the meat is sealed. Add the turmeric, the rest of the salt, asafetida, cumin, coriander, curry powder and the last mashed garlic clove. Cook for five minutes then add the tomato mixture. Bring to a simmer then transfer to a slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours on low (you could also simmer, covered, for two hours).

Serve with rice and garnished with coriander.