I have been experimenting with nightshade-free spice blends lately. Because my family all enjoys anything seasoned with curry powder, it became an important priority to recreate the curry flavor without the nightshades that are typically included in curry spices. If you buy lamb stew meat pre-butchered into cubes, this also makes this meal quite easy to put together. The longer you cook this curry, the more tender the meat will be, so you can easily extend the cooking time if you wish. This would also work in a slow cooker.
This is delicious served with plain cauliflower rice or spaghetti squash. You could also substitute another meat very easily into this meal.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Serves: 5-6.
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs lamb stew meat, cubed
- 3 Tbsp red palm oil (or substitute tallow, lard or coconut oil)
- 2 medium yellow onions, diced
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp ginger
- ½ tsp mustard powder
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp anise
- ¼ tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
- ¼ tsp caraway seed
- ½ tsp salt, to taste
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/3 cup coconut cream concentrate (aka creamed coconut, aka coconut butter)
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- If you are using any whole seeds (anise and caraway would be typical), grind in a food processor or spice grinder to a powder.
- In a large stock pot, heat 2 Tbsp red palm oil over medium-high heat. Brown meat in 2-3 batches, setting browned meat aside in a large bowl.
- Add 1 Tbsp of red palm oil to the pot. Cook onion and carrot until onion is starting to turn translucent, about 7-8 minutes.
- Add meat back to the pot and all of the spices.
- Add chicken broth and lemon juice to the pot. Cover, reduce temperature to medium and simmer for 1 hour (or more).
- Remove lid and continue to simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes.
- Stir in coconut cream and spinach. Once spinach has wilted (about 1 minute), serve.
- Enjoy!
Rebecca says
I made this with chicken tonight and served it with the cauliflower rice. It was delicious!
Rebecca says
Love iT!!!! we miss our curries and chillis, especially since i will only cook AIP now…. The family are overjoyed to have a curry again – thanks for your continued innovation. If i could hug you i would!
Holly says
I cannot eat coconut so I used your idea from your chili recipe of using pureed pumpkin instead – I used quite a bit more pumpkin than the amount of coco cream called for, used less broth and added more fat. It worked great! I am so excited about this idea of using pumpkin puree as a base – thank you!
Lily says
Tried this recipe last night with goat and it was fabulous! It’s going in my regular menu rotation! Thanks!!! 🙂
Alice says
Hi there,
Can you recommend an alternative to spinach which is high in oxalate?
Can any part of the lamb be used in the recipe (or must it be stew)?
Thanks
ThePaleoMom says
Any part of the lamb, any green leaf you like or omit.
Wendy says
Do you think I can throw this all in the crock pot without browning the meat or cooking the veg first?
ThePaleoMom says
Yes, I would think so.
kat wol says
Yum!!
I thought that I had read that cumin was a no-no for nightshade intolerance?
Christina Feindel says
Cumin is not a nightshade, it is a seed-based spice. – Christina, Sarah’s assistant
Penny says
I made a very similar curry the other night and whilst we all loved it , I’m fairly certain it was responsible for a tummy ache in the morning. I suspect it was one or more of the spices. What do you think the likely culprit was?
Christina Feindel says
It could have been anything, really. You will have to try eliminating them and then adding them back in one by one to find out for sure. – Christina, Sarah’s assistant
Lee Ann says
Thank you for the great, flavorful recipe! I modified it slightly – used boneless, skinless chicken thighs and bone broth. I also increased the carrots and used less onion. I added all the ingredients – except the spinach – to a crockpot and slow cooked all day. I added the spinach about 10 minutes before serving and it was a hit! Quick and healthy week night dinner!
Siela says
ALERT! Palm oil melts at temperature of 42C, what means at regular body temp. of 36.6C it stays solid. This solid oil will be stored in your body to destroy your health and kill you faster… Would you like recipes what kill you???????????
Siela says
Moderation means censorship to hide the Truth. “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32)
katherine says
Have some goat shanks so I was going to try this recipe today. I’m new to avoiding nightshades but hoping it will help my skin issues. But I noticed you used cinnamon, mustard, and cardamom, all of which I thought were off limits? Are they ok in small amounts? Or I guess if it’s mustard powder it’s OK but not mustard seed?
Christina Feindel says
This recipe is nightshade-free, but it is not autoimmune protocol-friendly. You can read more about spices on the AIP here: https://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/07/spices-on-autoimmune-protocol.html – Christina, Sarah’s assistant
Bessy says
Thank you for the wonderful curry recipe. I will try it and share it, it looks delicious! 🙂
tiffany says
Can this be done in crockpot?
Antje says
What did you use for the ‘spaghetti’ in the picture? Spaghetti Squash? Looks delish.
Michael Ward says
I can’t wait to make this! Dr. Ballantyne, you’re too smart for a grammatically incorrect web site. I almost passed your site by due to it, but this recipe kept me here. Please, have your webmaster fix your title at the top. Dr & PhD together is grammatically incorrect. Since people might assume you’re an MD (legally), you should ONLY have PhD. Meant in kindness, me