Folsom Prison Lamb Curry

Lamb curry with onions and carrots served with white bread and plain pinto beans

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City/Region: Folsom, California

Time Period: 1916-1933

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Folsom Prison is infamous, but the food doesn’t sound like it was all that bad, though there was plenty of watery gruel made from the water salt pork had been soaked in, and if you were in solitary confinement, you got a diet of bread and water with beans every third day. Meals  weren’t all terrible, though. A 1925 menu show foods like Hamburger Steak with Brown Gravy, Split Pea Soup, and Lamb Curry & Rice, which is what we’re making here.

In the 1920s, a lot of the cooks were using military manuals, so that is where the base of this recipe comes from, along with a list of ingredients from a commissary report from 1933.

It’s actually quite good, though I would add as much as double the amount of curry powder as was specified in the historical recipe. The beans are a little plain, but that’s to be expected.

“382. Beef, curry (for 60 men).
Ingredients used:
20 pounds beef.
1 1/2 ounces curry powder.
Cut the beef into 1-inch cubes and place in a bake pan; cover with beef stock or water; season with salt, pepper, and curry powder. When nearly done, thicken slightly with a flour batter. Serve hot.”

— Manual for Army Cooks, 1916

“LAMB CURRIE and RICE
1160 pounds Mutton
830 “ Rice
300 “ Onions
400 “ Carrots
1 bottle Curry”

— Commissary report from Folsom Prison, February 1, 1933

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Ingredients:

Lamb Curry

• 2 lbs (1 kg) lamb or mutton, chopped into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons (4.2 g) curry powder*
• 1 quart (1 L) beef stock or water
• 1/4 cup (30 g) flour
• Cooked white rice, for serving
• White bread, for serving

Brown (Pinto) Beans

• 1 cup (140 g) dried pinto beans
• 3 cups (700 ml) water, plus more for soaking
• A pinch of salt

*See notes below about types of curry powder.

Instructions:

1. For the beans: Cover the beans with water and let them soak for a few hours.
2. Drain the beans and put them in a small pot along with the 3 cups (700 ml) water and salt. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, or until pretty much all the liquid is gone.
3. For the lamb curry: Preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C).
4. Place the cubed lamb into a baking dish, then scatter the chopped onion and carrots over it. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and curry powder over it all. Pour the beef stock in and give it a stir. If you’re using water, you may want to add a bit more salt, maybe 1 teaspoon.
5. Place in the oven for 2 hours.
6. After 2 hours, take it out and ladle about 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the liquid into a bowl. Whisk the flour into the 1/2 cup liquid to make a slurry. Stir the slurry back into the baking dish, then return the dish to the oven for 1 more hour.
7. To serve: To recreate the 1925 meal, you can serve the curry forth with white rice, the beans, white bread, and tea.

Notes

• There are lots of kinds of curry powder, and the Manual for Army Cooks (1916) describes it as “a yellow powder formed by a mixture of numerous hot peppers and ginger. Used as a high seasoning for stews, etc.”. So if you have a curry powder that’s yellow and has ginger in it, that’ll be most accurate for this recipe, but whatever you have on hand will do.

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