Malaysian Curry

I have a very exciting new recipe to share - the original version was found in one of the free supermarket magazines but as always I've tweaked it a little to suit what was in my store cupboard at the time of cooking.

This Malaysian curry is very aromatic with a little zing rather than spicy heat.  It's utterly moorish, quick and easy to prepare and certainly a dish I've served up quite a few times since I first came across it.

The original recipe used cubed lamb but I have also tried it with chunks of chicken.  In my opinion, lamb suits it better but, in my family, lamb is not always the preferred meat!  Also, don't rush when cooking the aubergine, it really does need the 10 minutes (or slightly more) to get to a lovely soft consistency, otherwise the tougher texture will put a dampener on the whole dish.  The original recipe added a squeeze of lime at the end of the cooking - you may want to do this but I found the dish tasted superb without it.

Serves 4-6.

2 tbsp oil (olive or sunflower)
450g cubed lamb or chicken
1 chopped small onion
3 tbsp rendang curry paste
400ml tin of coconut milk
100ml chicken or vegetable stock
1 aubergine cut into chunks
1 tbsp soy sauce
Seasoning

Heat half the oil in a large frying pan and gently brown the lamb, add the onion and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.  Stir in the rendang curry paste and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes.  Pour in the coconut milk and stock, bring to the boil and then turn down to simmer for 30 minutes.  In another pan, heat the remaining oil and cook the aubergine for at a good 10 minutes, turning regularly, until it has softened.  Add the aubergine to the curry.  Before serving, add the soy sauce to the curry and any seasoning, if required.  Serve with rice.