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Afghani Lamb with Spinach

A lamb stew with spinach, tomatoes, spices, and yogurt, baked until tender.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 17 ingredients
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Why it works: Turmeric and cardamom match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 667 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Afghani Lamb with Spinach

Oven350 °F
Timeabout 1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Make the stew

  1. Sear lamb in olive oil in a cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven.

  2. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes.

  3. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.

  4. Put in turmeric, nutmeg, cardamom, crushed red pepper, cinnamon and sauté mixture for 1–2 minutes more, careful not to burn onions or garlic.

  5. Add tomatoes and veal stock and stir.

  6. Cover dish and bake at 350 °F for about 1 hour, until meat is tender and begins to break up.

Finish and serve

  1. Remove dish from oven and add spinach, stirring until spinach is wilted and blended in.

  2. Allow stew to cool slightly.

  3. Add yogurt, lemon peel, and salt to taste.

  4. Sprinkle with roasted pine nuts.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1084Calories
77 gProtein
72 gFat
38 gCarbs

Counts 16 of 17 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 16 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Lamb100g cooked294
Beef100g cooked250
Pine Nut1 oz (28g)191
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Cardamom1 tsp ground (2g)6
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Vealnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Turmeric + cardamomtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together667 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Nutmeg + cardamomtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together249 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Turmeric + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together372 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lamb stew meat
Slow braising in liquid turns the tough connective tissue tender and gives a rich meaty flavour.
Onions
Sweetness and body as they soften and brown in the oil, forming the base of the stew.
Tomatoes
Acidity and moisture that help build the stew's sauce as it bakes.
Yogurt
Adds tang and creaminess, and its milk proteins can curdle if the stew is too hot.
Spinach
Adds fresh green flavour and body as it wilts into the hot stew.
Garlic
Aroma and pungency that mellow and sweeten when gently sautéed.

The step that matters

Sautéing the spices and aromatics. Garlic and onions burn quickly and turn bitter, and ground spices bloom best in oil over moderate heat. Keep the heat moderate and stir constantly for the 1–2 minutes.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, meat, olive, onion, garlic, turmeric, cardamom):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Corianderfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, meat, olive, onion, garlic, turmeric, cardamom. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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