Anybody who has been to our market stall or one of our backyard bashes will be very familiar with this recipe… but may not be familiar with the backstory or why it was named Toby’s Lamb.
We love our neighbourhood and neighbours — we’re lucky to live in such a close-knit area; it’s truly a special place to live. One family and one little boy have made it feel more like home for us.
We met Toby and his parents when he was just a toddler. His Nan and Pop lived across the way, and it was adorable to watch him stroll along with his parents or grandparents. A quick chat would most often lead to a conversation about cars. He was keenly interested in all the makes and models, and we quickly learned that Toby had an uncanny ability to recognize cars and was hard to stump from a very young age — he was a car prodigy in the making. He was also downright adorable.
The bonus came when Toby’s parents lucked into a home on the same street as Nan and Pop, allowing him to easily access his grandparents — making the family our new neighbours, too.
Now, Geoff and I come from a place where you know your neighbours and you share. Whether it was a cup of butter or a family feast, there was always room for one more at the table. Our community upbringing was welcoming, rich and warm, so this was our approach when welcoming this new family to the hood. We happily took the whole family under our wing.
We have to segue into the love affair of Toby and our Pixie cat for a moment; it’s a vital part of our story. All the neighbours knew Pixie cat, as she loved to walk around the block when we walked with our dogs. Pixie fell for that little boy Toby during these walks, and the feeling was mutual. She was in her glee whenever she encountered him. Through the years, we gifted Toby with a home-crafted Pixie cat of his own, one that he was able to snuggle into at night.
It was a warm and fuzzy thing, and it added to our sense of community and family.
Through the jiggs and reels of day-to-day living, Toby also fell in love with our lamb recipe. And, us being honorary family, we took great delight in passing a feed or two across the way whenever we made a batch.
One such batch was particularly pleasing to Toby. When we asked Mom the next day if he liked the current batch, her response came with a gentle laugh.
“He loved it so much he ate a big bowl for supper and then wanted it again for breakfast.”
This recipe is dedicated to Toby and his entire family. Thank you for making our wee little neighbourhood feel like home. Thanks for all the chats and the memories. Thank you for making us feel like family.
Toby’s Lamb is a foolproof and always yummy dish. As long as you give it lots of time to cook low and slow, it will be tender, rich and delicious. It’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser that the whole family will love. Serve it at your next neighbourhood get-together.
Recipe Details
Cuisine: Indian, Canadian, East Coast
Category: Main Course
Cooking Method: Braising
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3–3½ hours
Suitable For: Diabetic-friendly, gluten-free, keto, low-carb, Banting, healthy and heart-healthy diets
Ingredients
For the lamb
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2½ pounds lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
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¼ cup olive oil
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1 onion, chopped
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3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
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½ inch ginger, finely grated
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2 tsp paprika
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1½ tsp salt
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1 tsp curry powder
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½ tsp pepper
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⅔ cup tomato sauce
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2 tbsp coconut sauce
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¼ cup red wine vinegar
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3 tbsp powdered sweetener
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1½ cups broth
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 300°F.
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Add the oil, onion, garlic and ginger to a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium heat.
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Cook the garlic mixture for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
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Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and add the meat to the pan.
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Stir to coat the meat. Cover with a lid and place in the oven for about 3 to 3½ hours, or until the meat is fork-tender.
Notes:
Chopped vegetables can be added with the meat, but our favourite way to make this is to combine Toby’s Lamb with our Nine Gem Korma recipe from our newest cookbook, Healthy Comfort Foods.
Nutrition and Macro Information
We no longer provide macros for our recipes for the following reasons: Why We’re Dropping Serving Size.
Based on this, we strongly suggest you calculate your own macros, based on the brands you use and any alterations you make to the recipe.
We provide a nutrition snapshot in our books, but you must know that we are simply painting a scenario of how your macros can look if you follow the recipe to a tee, use the exact serving sizes and use the branded ingredients that we use.
Because it is almost impossible to achieve this, we recommend that you calculate your own macros based on the brands and ingredients you use, your yield and how much you consume.
Never blindly trust your keto or your macros to an app, a person, a website or a product.
