As part of the KCL low FODMAP training for dietitians we were asked to follow the diet ourselves for one week. I remember thinking at the time that it was going to be a nightmare cooking for the family and making dinners that would be acceptable to everyone (I never make separate meals and I wasn’t going to for that week either). During the course the tutors mentioned a blog that two dietitians who had trained the previous year were doing which was about them following the diet themselves for 8 weeks and included a lot of recipes they had used. I decided to try their chicken and spinach curry recipe for our weekly curry night dinner, it was a great success, if you can make a curry work without onion and garlic then you can make any dish work! This is my version of a lamb and spinach low FODMAP curry. As always with this kind of dish you can cook more than you need and freeze the leftovers for another day or have it for lunch. The colour of the spinach and coriander might not be so vibrant the next day or after freezing but it will still taste great.
For more dinner ideas, have a look through my low FODMAP main meal recipes.
Update for 2022: Fresh tomatoes have been re-tested by Monash University and just 65g are classed as low FODMAP due to the fructose content. I have therefore reduced the amount in this recipe to ensure that a portion (1/4 of the recipe) remains low FODMAP.
- 2 tablespoons garlic flavoured oil
- A large thumb sized piece of ginger, finely grated
- 1-2 red chilli's de-seeded and finely chopped
- 2 heaped teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 heaped teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 level teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon asafoetida
- 600g diced lamb
- 200g fresh tomatoes blitzed in a food processor or roughly grated
- 200g spinach (note that baby spinach contains moderate amounts of fructans over 150g but as this recipe is divided into 4 portions this shouldn't be a problem)
- 5 green tops of spring onion roughly chopped
- Large handful fresh coriander leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat the oil in a medium sized heavy based pan and fry the ginger and most of the chilli together for a minute before adding the cumin, coriander, turmeric and asafoetida and cooking for a further minute
- Add the diced lamb and mix it together with the spices allowing it brown slightly before adding the blitzed or grated tomatoes
- Reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer and cover with a well fitting lid
- Cook for 1 hour, until the lamb is tender, stirring every so often to ensure it's not sticking to the bottom, add a little water if necessary.
- Meanwhile use the same food processor bowl to blitz the spinach, spring onion and most of the coriander into a smooth paste. If you don't have a food processor just chop them all very finely
- Add the spinach mix to the curry, stir it in and cook for a few minutes
- Taste to check the seasoning and add a pinch of salt and pepper
- Garnish with the remaining coriander leaves and a little red chilli
- Serve with steamed rice
I tried this tonight in a highly corrupted version using quern chunks rather than meat. The quorum being dry uses up the liquid from the tomato very quickly, so my quern and spinach quantities were half the recipe amounts. It tastes great though, and has a real kick!
Thanks for these recipes, you’re keeping me sane as the Monash app has only a limited volume of recipes and they’re all American. Getting some ingredients in the western isles just isn’t going to happen!
Hi Roslyn, I’m glad you enjoyed it, I love this recipe. If you can’t buy a certain ingredient in Stornoway then I don’t use it!
Loving these recipes thank you so much.
Lamb and spinach curry tonight!
Thanks Samantha, hope you enjoy it!
Yum yum yum, this was so delicious, and had leftovers for lunch. Thank you so much for another great recipe, I put everything in the slow cooker and let it do its own thing for about 6hrs. Will definitely make again, thanks very much.
This is a favourite recipe in my house, I’m really pleased you enjoyed it too!
Hi there,
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I did wonder wether you also experience such a heavy Onion-like breath afterwards? It annoyes me because it’s really heavy on. Would it be the spring union or the asafoetida u think?
Thanks for the feedback Rosamaria. It’s probably the spring onion, it does give a strong onion flavour when used like this – barely cooked. Try adding it at the start next time with the ginger and spices, that should tone it down. Best wishes, Louisa