Aloo Mutton Shakkarwala (Caramelised Lamb Curry)

Photo: © childsdesign

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Having worked on Alan Coxon’s new book From Birmingham To Bombay: Food and Influences of the Punjab and Amritsar, and reading through all the recipes, we just had to have a go at making some. They all sound absolutely delicious so it was difficult on deciding what to make first, but this one caught our eye.
Being slightly non-conformist we chose to used goat meat instead of lamb which delivered perfect results. If you’re not a lover of lamb, and we do know a few, goat is a good alternative – the texture is similar but it is not as fatty and does not have that, well, lamby taste.

If the word ‘caramelised’ conjures up images of toffee sauce, do not be put off. The caramelisation of the sugar is needed to create the rich colour and lends only a delicate delicious sweetness.
We recommend that you make up Alan’s Kashmiri-Style Garam Masala for this dish which can be found in the book but a good quality pre-made one would be fine.

We really loved this curry. It is rich in flavour with a wonderful combination of spice flavours which build into a gradual heat. Serve with rice and naan bread.

View recipe

Alan Coxon's new TV series transmits this week

Photo: ©Moe Kafer

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Alan Coxon's brand new TV series 'From Birmingham to Bombay' will be showing this week on Food Network UK.


Starting from Thursday 1st August at 11.30am and 12 noon, the food and travel series looks at the history and origination of five of the UK's (and world's) most popular curries.

This is in addition to the official launch date that is on the 19th-23rd August at 12 noon.

The series is available via the following :
Freeview channel 48
Sky channel 262
Virgin Media channel 287
Freesat channel 403

The first of the set of five cookbooks (read our blog post) is now available from www.booksbyalancoxon.com and looks at the foods of Northern India, the Punjab, Amritsar and includes Tandoori recipes, stories from the Golden temple and communal kitchens.

'From Birmingham to Bombay' first book published

You may remember a little while back we published a post about Alan Coxon’s forthcoming TV series From Birmingham to Bombay, which touched on a rumour of the accompanying books. Well, the first book has finally been published and is available as a downloadable e-book, and a Kindle book as well as a physical print-on-demand version.

It is a real pleasure to work with Alan Coxon and we’d like to thank him for giving us the opportunity to design and publish his book series and website.
The Artisan Food Trail offers a variety of services to its members either directly or through carefully selected partners. Design and working for publishing companies is something that we have been doing for nearly 30 years, so it seemed only natural to offer our experience to benefit AFT members.

Back to the book. Part one in a series of five books covers the Punjab and Amritsar region of India and takes the form of a 74 page, full colour culinary travelogue.
Including behind the scenes stories and delicious recipes from the northern regions of India, Alan visits the Golden Temple and sees how 40,000 chapattis are produced every day by volunteers. He goes behind the tandoori and looks at herbs and spices, such as cardamom, mustard and ginger which are used extensively throughout the region.

Recipes from the book include Paneer Tikka Kalimirch, Kandhari Barwaan Khumb, Green Fish Curry, Tandoori Murgh and Chooza Makhni.
If you enjoy the foods of India, curries and especially tandoori, then this is a book that won't disappoint.

Sanjeev Kapoor

The foreword is written by Sanjeev Kapoor which is a great endorsement and as he’s one of India's most respected celebrity chefs, it says a lot for Alan's knowledge and recipe authenticity.

One of the advantages of seeing the copy while working on the design is that we got to try out some of the recipes! The Tandoori Spice Blend on page 28 made for a particularly tasty chicken.

If you would like to buy the book, From Birmingham to Bombay Part One: Foods and Influences of the Punjab and Amritsar, it is available through www.booksbyalancoxon.com
The downloadable e-book and the Kindle book are both priced at £3.99 and the physical print-on-demand version is priced at £14.99.

Win the chance to have your recipe published in our first cookbook

We hope you have been inspired by our blog and website to cook some great food and we have a wonderful opportunity for you.

How would you like to have your recipe published in our first cookbook? 
Well this could be your chance.

We're looking for recipes from home cooks, secret chefs, foodies or bloggers that can be created using at least one ingredient from any of the producers featured on The Artisan Food Trail.

You can enter up to three recipes – one in each category: Starter, Main and Dessert. You can enter just the one category or even all three! It's up to you.

Time is running out as the competition ends at midnight on Sunday 21st April 2013, so time to get busy!

There's more information about how to enter, rules etc. and an online entry form, over on our competition page so enter now!

Good Luck!