The Chillihead Armageddon Curry. The name says it all. If you think Extra Hot Vindaloo is a dessert course, then this curry may well be a match made in heaven. Chillihead Armageddon Curry is made with the world’s hottest chillies and should not be attempted by lesser mortals! Time to sort the men from the boys...

The Chillihead Armageddon curry is based on what is reputed to be the world’s hottest curry - the Phaal. The Phaal makes an Extra Hot Vindaloo seam like a friendly stew. But we didn’t stop there. We have taken the Phaal and “pimped” it with the world’s hottest chilli. This curry should make the Phaal seem like a nice stew by comparison. SO, if your quest for the hottest has always lead to disappointment, this  curry may well silence the lambs.

No expense has been spared here either. Plenty of spices in this curry. Only the best ingredients have been used to ensure this curry is not only the hottest, but also the tastiest. This Chillihead Armageddon curry will be enough to blow the heads off 6 seasoned chilliheads. So a little goes a long way!

Better still, we have provided all the dry spices and ingredients in a easy to use, handy kit. All you have to do is buy the fresh ingredients.

PLEASE NOTE, YOU WILL REQUIRE THE ARMAGEDDON CURRY KIT TO COMPLETE THIS RECIPE. THIS KIT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE BELOW.

1. Meat Pre-Cook

Do this two days before the dinner. It is best to marinade the meat (once cooked) in it’s sauce overnight in the fridge. This way the flavours will soak into the meat and intensify the flavours.

Prep Time: 15mins Cooking Time: ±60mins

Ingredients:
Pouch 1a Pre-cook Spices (Provided in kit)
Pouch 1b Pre-cook Spices (Provided in kit)

You will need:
150ml Oil
1Kg Lamb Shank (Bone in)
1x Large Onion (Peeled & finely chopped)
1,5 Tbsp Ginger&Garlic Paste
3 Tbsp Tomato Puree
750 - 1000ml Water

Prepping:

With a sharp knife, trim all the meat off the lamb shank bones.
Cut the meat into bite size cubes. Set the bones aside.
If you have a butcher that can do this for you, get him to chop the bones into smaller pieces. It will save time and effort ;)
Peel & finely chop large onion (±175g).

Cooking Instructions:

Add 150ml Oil to a large pot over medium to high heat.
Add Spices in pouch 1a. Stir in oil, must not burn!
Add ±175g finely chopped Onion and cook till glazed. Do not brown or burn!
Add the Ginger & Garlic paste. Cook for a few more mins stirring and not allowing to burn.
Add Spices in pouch 1b. Stir in, must not burn!
Add Tomato puree. Stir in and mix well.
Add a little water if needed to make sauce more liquid.
Add 1kg of pre-cooked Lamb. Mix in with sauce, making sure it is well coated.
Leave Lamb to cook into sauce for a good couple of minutes, stirring frequently.
Add Lamb bones.
Add the water. Enough to cover the meat completely.
Lower the heat to low setting so pot will just simmer.
Cover with lid and leave to boil for ±60mins (this may vary, so may take longer or less time).
Check every 20mins and give a stir. Cook until meat is lovely and tender.
Once tender, Switch off and leave to cool.

Refrigerating Instructions:

Once the sauce and meat has cooled down sufficiently, transfer sauce and meat to a bowl and cover with plastic film and refrigerate over night. This will allow the flavours to infuse into the meat.
When you are ready to use the meat, remove the meat pieces from the sauce and use for curry. Make sure to remove all bones and whole spices that may have attached to the meat.
Don’t throw the sauce away. This makes a great stock for future curries. You can freeze this for future use.

2. Stock Base

Prepare this one day before the dinner. This is going to make a really amazing stock base for the curry that you will add when making the final curry.

Prep Time: 15mins Cooking Time: ±60mins

Ingredients:
Pouch 2 Stock Base Spices (Provided in kit)

You will need:
200ml Oil
1,5 Kg Onions (Peeled & chopped)
200g Carrots (Peeled & chopped)
1 Green Pepper (De-seeded & chopped)
1 large Potato (Peeled & diced)
80g Ginger & Garlic Paste
160g Tomato Puree
80ml Coconut Milk
40g Fresh Coriander (use stalks)
2 litres Water (give and take)

Prepping:

Peel & chop 1,5Kg Onions (about 9 large onions).
Peel and chop 1 large Carrot (about 200g)
Chop Green Pepper in half. Take out seeds and chop up.
Peel & dice 1 large Potato (about 100g)
Chop Fresh Coriander (if you have a bunch, use the stalks for this part. Leave the leaves for garnishing the curry later.)  

Cooking Instructions:

Add 200ml Oil to a large pot over medium to high heat.
Add the finely chopped onion and cook till glazed. Do not burn!
Add the chopped green Pepper. Stir frequently.
Add the Ginger & Garlic paste. Stir & Cook for a few more mins, stirring frequently.
Add spices in Pouch 2. Keep stirring.
Add the Tomato Puree. Keep Stirring.
Add the Coconut Milk. Keep Stirring.
Add the diced Potato & Carrots.
Add the chopped Coriander
Add water. Give a good stir.
Lower heat to lowest level so pot will just simmer.
Cover pot with lid and leave to simmer ± 60 mins. Check and stir every 20 mins or so.
Once the contents of the pot have reduced, switch off the stove and leave to cool.

Time to blend:

Once cool, transfer contents to a blender or use a hand held blender and liquidize.
You may need to add a little water to get a more liquid consistency.
The consistency of the blended stock should be liquid very smooth.
Once done, refrigerate for use when making the curry tomorrow.

This recipe will make sufficient stock base for several curries. Fill Tupperware containers with left over base stock to use for future curries. These can be kept in the freezer till needed. 

3. Curry

Prepare this on the day. Remember that a curry is always best warmed up. Finish the cooking several hours before your dinner. This will give you plenty time to prepare the rice and side dishes to go with the meal. Re-heat the curry when guests arrive.

Prep Time: 5mins Cooking Time: ±60mins

Ingredients:
Pouch 3a Curry Spices (Provided in kit)
Pouch 3b Curry Spices (Provided in kit)

You will need:
75ml Oil
1 Tbsp Ginger & Garlic Paste
2 Tbsp Tomato Puree
6 Habaneros & 6 Cayenne or Birdseye Chillies
2 Tsp Lemon Juice
Fresh Coriander (Leaves)
Water

Pre-cooked Lamb (Made before)
Base Stock (Made before)

Prepping:

Remove stalks from the chillies and finely chop the fresh chillies. It is advisable to wear gloves when handling chillies. If you don't - avoid touching sensitive body parts after chopping chillies with bare hands!

At this point we are going to caution that cooking this curry will release chilli vapours into the air that can be particularly unpleasant. We highly recommend switching on the extractor fan (if you have one) or opening windows and doors to create a good through draft. Alternatively, a boiled sweet will help aleviate the coughing from the fumes as the chilli fumes get in the airways.

Cooking Instructions:

Add 75ml Oil to a large pan over medium to high heat.
Add spices in pouch 3a. Leave to gently warm in the oil for a minute or two. We do not want these spices to burn!
Add 1 Tbsp Ginger & Garlic Paste. Stir into the oil. Cook for a few minutes further. Do not burn!
Add spices in pouch 3b. Stir into the oil in the pan. This will become like a thick red paste.
Add fresh chillies and stir well.
Add some of the Base Stock that you made the day before to this paste to ensure the ingredients in the pan do not dry out. Ensure the contents of the pan is liquid at all times. You want the spices to cook in, but not burn!
Continue cooking the sauce in the pan for a good 15 minutes, adding base stock as required. This will let the spices and flavours infuse.
Add Tomato Puree. Stir well.
Add ±75ml water and stir well.
Add a hand full of Coriander and stir well. Leave to simmer for a few minutes.
Add the Pre-cooked Lamb Cubes. Stir into the gravy/sauce making sure to coat the meat cubes completely.
Add ±75ml Base Gravy. Stir and let cook in and reduce for several minutes.
Add ±75ml Base Gravy. Stir and let cook in.
Cook and let sauce reduce for 10mins stir as you go.
Add the fresh chillies. Stir in and cook for a further 5 mins.
Add ±150ml Base Gravy. Stir well.
Add the lemon juice and stir.
Leave to simmer for 20 mins. You want the sauce to reduce to give a good consistency to the curry.
If too dry, you can add some more water or base stock.
Once curry sauce has a good consistency, serve on portion of rice and garnish with fresh coriander. Let Armageddon begin!   

Side Dish Suggestions

Serve this curry with Pilau or Basmati Rice.
Butter / Garlic Naan or Poppadums will never go amiss.

To cool things down a little, serve lots of Yoghurt, Cucumber and Mint (or dill) Raita or a chopped Tomato, Onion & Coriander Sambal.

Mango Chutney or Lime Pickle would make great accompaniments also.