Curry Goat Stew (Goat Curry) With Lentils & Veg

I'm sure there are many recipes out there in cyberspace for curry goat, this one by Canida looks quite good. This Caribbean inspired dish was bourne from the fact I wanted another contest entry for the soups and stews and because I'd recently bought a heap of stewing mutton from my local butcher I needed to find a use for.
Be warned, to allow time for marinating this recipe is best started the day before. It's not a difficult recipe nor does it require great care but the key ingredient, as with all good stews, is time for the flavours to work.
Technically then, this is curried mutton, but you could use Goat or Lamb for this recipe just as well. Goat would be a more authentic Caribbean ingredient.
Originating in India, curry goat is now a well know dish in Jamaica, featuring the scotch bonnet chilli typical of indo-Jamaican cuisine. This particular pepper, whilst hot at 100,000-350,000 scoville, also imparts a wonderful sweetness to any dish.

This is just a guide, my measurements tend to vary depending on how the dish is going, you might want to add other items too like more vegetables.

• 1kg Stewing Mutton, Goat or Lamb on the bone (the bone adds gelatine to thicken the dish and a real depth to the flavour)
• 1 onion, or a mix of onion and Spring onion (scallion) chopped
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 4 springs of fresh thyme, or a large teaspoon of dried thyme
• 2-3 cloves Garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• a single scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (or leave the seeds in if you're braver than me!)
• 2 tablespoons of Vegetable oil, plus more for frying
• a knob of butter, 10-15g I guess.
• 500ml Stock (lamb, chicken or vegetable)
• Handful of waxy potatoes, in big chinks
• A carrot, chopped
• A small handful of mixed lentils, well rinsed
• Some chopped coriander to garnish

• Put the Garlic, allspice, curry powder, bay leaves, thyme and onion in a mixing bowl.
• Add the oil and stir to make a paste.
• add the meat and coat it thoroughly in the marinade
• Leave to infuse for a few hours or overnight in the fridge (the longer the better the flavour)

• in a large heavy bottomed pan heat some more oil and the butter
• Add the meat and sear all over until nicely browned
• add the rest of the marinade mixture and the scotch bonnet chilli, mixing it all together
• Add the vegetables and stir to coat
• Add the stock, bring up to the boil then cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally
• after an hour I added the lentils so they can help thicken the stock which is normally quote thin. Then I cook for at least another 1/2 hour

I've served mine tonight with plain rice, but you may wish to serve it with the more traditional rice and peas (couldn't find an instructable, maybe I should post one) and maybe some fried plantain.