full recipe – kangaroo curry with coconut cream and spinach

My family loves this flavourful, aromatic Indian-inspired curry. It’s nourishing, warming and great for young ones. The spinach and coconut bring a subtleness to the spices and it is gentle on their little bellies. It’s also rich in iron, thanks to the red meat and spinach. This dish takes time, so I usually prepare it when my campervan is parked up for the afternoon.

PREP TIME
30 minutes

COOK TIME
1 – 3 hours

INGREDIENTS
Spice mix
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
5 cloves
7 cardamom pods
1/2 a teaspoon of garam masala
1/2 a teaspoon of coriander seed
1/2 a teaspoon of ground turmeric
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons of flaky sea salt

The rest
2 tablespoons of butter or ghee
1 small brown onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
4cm piece of ginger, grated
1/2 cup of coriander, root, leaf and stem, chopped
400 to 500g of kangaroo steaks, large diced
350g of spinach, beetroot leaves, silverbeet or chard, finely chopped (a combination will also be fine)
1 and a 1/2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
400ml of coconut cream
2 potatoes, roughly chopped

METHOD
1. On medium heat in a dry medium-sized pot, quickly fry off the spices and salt until they’re fragrant. This will allow the flavours to be released. Stir it constantly to make sure it doesn’t burn.

2. Next, throw in some butter or ghee along with the onion, garlic, ginger and fresh coriander and sauté́ until they have softened and become fragrant.

3. Now, add the kangaroo and sear it to brown off the meat for one to two minutes, which will enhance the texture of the meat and add extra depth to the sauce. Add the greens and stock. It will seem like a lot of greens, but they will cook down.

4. Once the greens have reduced by about half, add the coconut cream and simmer the curry on low heat for about 90 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for a further 30 minutes, until the potatoes and kangaroo are tender. The fat from the coconut cream will help tenderise the lean kangaroo meat.

5. Serve with rice, plain yoghurt and flatbread.

TIP: If you don’t have access to kangaroo, use any meat you’ve got. If you use chicken, just reduce the cooking time. You will only need to simmer the curry until the chicken has cooked through. For red meats, it’s ready when the meat is so tender that it flakes apart and becomes juicy and tender.

Order The Small Kitchen Cook from Exploring Eden Media, and see more from Ashleigh on her Instagram,@vanlifediaries.Photographs by Todd Thimios.