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If you are craving an incredibly comforting African dish packed with authentic flavors, give this Namibian lamb potjie recipe a try – it’s bound to become your favorite!
This classic Namibian comfort food, lamb stew, also known as lamb potjiekos or lamb potjie, is a popular southern African cuisine. It’s rich, so tasty, and a winner every time. Made with lamb neck chops and seasoned to perfection.
After simmering for about 2 hours, the meat becomes beautifully tender and enveloped in a deeply flavorful sauce.
Lamb potjie is traditionally made over an open fire in a three-legged pot known as a Potjie, hence the name lamb potjie, with any kind of lamb cut, from lamb shank, lamb shoulder and lamb back to lamb neck, like in my case.
Ingredients used to make this recipe
- 600 g (1.3 lbs) lamb neck, cut into pieces or any lamb cut of your choice
- 1 medium onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 15 g (½ oz) ginger root/ 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar/ 1 teaspoon chutney
- 200 g (7 ½ oz) canned diced tomatoes/ pureed tomatoes/ passata
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 bell pepper (capsicum)
- 400 ml (13 ½ fl.oz/ about 1 2/3 cups) water hot
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 large carrots
- 1 chili pepper / ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper/ 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes or more depending on your taste
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
How to make African style lamb stew
Pat dry lamb with kitchen papers (paper towels).
In a large saucepan or pot, heat 2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or whatever you prefer) over medium heat and brown the meat until you get a golden crust on the beef.
- Don’t overcrowd the pot, otherwise the meat won’t brown.
In the meantime peel and mince garlic and onions. Then peel and grate ginger root and dice bell peppers. Next, peel the carrots and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. In the same pan (without cleaning it) add the onions, and cook for about 2 minutes.
Add garlic, ginger and bell peppers and cook for about 3 minutes or until soft. Stir in the spices and sugar/ chutney.
Add back the browned lamb, and combine well with the onion – spice mixture. Stir in the tomatoes and about half of hot water. Add bay leaves and bring to a boil. Once it boils, turn down the heat.
Cover with the lid and simmer for 120 minutes. Keep stirring and adding water in between, so that the bottom of the pot doesn’t burn.
About 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the lid and cook the stew to the end to let the sauce reduce.
Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Then remove the bay leaves from the stew.
What to serve with lamb stew
Lamb potjie pairs beautifully with a variety of sides. Here are some of our favorite side dishes to pair with it:
Namibian Lamb Potjie Recipe
Equipment
- Sauté pan or large pot
Ingredients
- 600 g (1.3 lbs) lamb neck chops , or any lamb cut of your choice
- 1 medium onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 15 g (½ oz) fresh ginger root or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sugar or 1 teaspoon chutney
- 200 g (7 ½ oz) canned diced tomatoes or pureed tomatoes or passata
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- about 400 ml (13 ½ fl.oz/ about 1 2/3 cups) water hot
- 2 carrots , large
- 1 bell pepper/ capsicum
- 1 chili pepper , ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper/ 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes or more dependingon your taste
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil or any
Instructions
- Pat dry lamb with kitchen papers (paper towels).
- In a large saucepan or pot, heat 2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or whatever you prefer) over medium heat and brown the meat until you get a golden crust on the lamb.* Don’t overcrowd the pot, otherwise the meat won’t brown.
- In the meantime peel and mince garlic and onions. Then peel and grate ginger root and dice bell peppers.next, peel the carrots and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
- Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. In the same pan (without cleaning it) add the onions, and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add garlic, ginger and bell peppers and cook for about 3 minutes or until soft. Stir in the spices and sugar/ chutney.
- Add back the browned lamb, and combine well with the onion – spice mixture.
- Stir in the tomatoes and about half of hot water.
- Add bay leaves and bring to a boil. Once it boils, turn down the heat. Cover with the lid and simmer for 120 minutes. Keep stirring and adding water in between, so that the bottom of the pot doesn’t burn.
- About 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the lid and cook the stew to the end to let the sauce reduce.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Then remove the bay leaves from the stew. Serve the stew with hot pap, yellow rice, bread or any side of your choice.
Did you make this lamb potjiekos recipe? I’d love to hear from you! Simply write a comment and add rating to it.