Lamb and Date Stew from Oman

Bags of flavour is the best way to describe this tasty stew from Oman.  You can cook it on the stove-top letting it simmer for a few hours until the lamb chunks just fall apart.  Or you can do as I did and let it simmer all day in the slow cooker.  Serve this stew with brown rice and be prepared to be wowed by the flavour combinations.  This is easy to make as you put everything in a pot and forget about it until it's ready for eating.

1 kg boneless lamb cut into chunks
1 large onion finely sliced
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon dried chili finely chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 stock cubes
2 cups water
6 dates pitted and chopped
Mix the salt, chili and spices together and throw over the lamb chunks making sure they are evenly covered.  Put the oil in the pot and saute the onion and garlic until soft.  Add in the spiced lamb chunks and brown.  Add in the water and the stock cubes and leave the stew to simmer for a couple of hours until the meat is starting to fall apart.  Add in the chopped dates and cook for a further 15-20 minutes.  Serve with rice.  You can use roasted almonds as a garnish if you wish.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine. She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U@ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B. All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com