When we went to Sweden to chat with the guys from Fria Ligan, they told us that they hadn’t always been as good at running Kickstarters as they are now. They mentioned that they had been a little too ambitious setting stretch-goals for the Swedish language edition of Coriolis. In particular they mentioned that they hadn’t (yet) delivered on Wahib’s Cookbook, a stretch goal unlocked at 200,000 Kroner. I am sure they are working on it, and it will get delivered. But in the meantime, there are over 400 Swedish backers who are starving desperately awaiting the delivery of that PDF so that they can cook and eat a meal at last.
In the absence of Wahibs Cookbook, the Coriolis Effect comes to the rescue! I thought I’d share one of the recipes that I make for the boys, when it’s my turn to host a session. I always like to make a meal that is at least tangentially related to the game we’re playing, whether it’s venison stew for A Song of Ice and Fire, or sausage and mash when we’re playing dashing British World War One pilots.
This one is a sort of curry, with a wide enough variety of spices to require a visit to the Spice Plaza on Coriolis Station. And while we’re at the market, here’s the shopping list. With apologies to our American listeners, measurements are metric. If it helps, a pound is about 500 grams. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe, so if you want to replace the specific regiments with “some”, you’ll probably get away with it. Watch out for the spices though. This provides four generous portions.
2 tbsp vegetable oil
500g goat or lamb fillet, cut into cubes
2 onions, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 green chillies, finely chopped (these are optional)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, shredded
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1½ tbsp garam masala
1½ tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp plain flour
4 sweet potatoes, chopped
1 tin, about 400g, chopped tomato’s
1/2 block 100g creamed coconut, dissolved in 400ml water
250g baby spinach leaves
pomegranate seeds to dress
steamed rice, to serve
Turn on the oven, and let it heat up to 150 degrees centigrade. This is best if slow cooked. In the meantime, heat a large saucepan and add a tablespoon of the vegetable oil and then the meat. Brown it over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, then remove take it out of the saucepan.
Reduce the heat and add another tablespoon of vegetable oil. Fry the onions, garlic, chillies and ginger for 2-3 minutes, until golden and softened. Add all the spices and fry, stirring well, for one minute. Add the flour and cook for a further minute.
Add the sweet potato, the tin of tomatoes and the coconut milk and heat to bring to a simmer. Put the lamb back in and heat the mixture until simmering, then cover and put in the oven for about one hour, or until the lamb is tender and cooked through. Just before serving, take it out of the oven, and stir in the spinach (the sweet potato should be soft enough now to break up and thicken the sauce). Serve onto warmed plates with steamed basmati rice and sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over the top.
It’s a dish Wahib himself would be proud to serve.
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