Philippa Davis’ pheasant Kerala curry makes for a wonderfully warming supper. Delve into the freezer for this one, as it uses all of the meat and save the carcass for stock.

Feeling uninspired but the freezer is over-stuffed? Look to The Field’s top 10 best pheasant recipes – we have suppers for smalls, snacks to share and mains guaranteed to impress. And be sure to check our guide to the best casserole dishes.

PHEASANT KERALA CURRY

This is by far my favourite curry recipe but in order to make the most of all the spices and flavours it is important to follow the process and stages carefully.

Serves 4

Curry

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
• 10 curry leaves
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 2 yellow onions, peeled and finely sliced
• 20g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks finely chopped, plus extra to garnish
• 2 pheasants, breasts and leg meat taken off the bone and cut into 2cm pieces (skin removed); use the bones to make the stock
• 200g tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 200ml light game stock
• 50ml yogurt, to serve

Paste

• 50g ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp red chilli flakes
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 100ml game stock

For the paste, in a blender, whizz the ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilli flakes, fennel seeds and ground coriander with 100ml game stock into a rough paste.

To make the curry,  in a pan on a medium heat fry the mustard seeds in the oil for a couple of minutes or until they start to pop, swiftly add the curry leaves and fenugreek. Fry for a few seconds then add the onions and fresh coriander.

Gently fry the onions until soft, about 10 minutes, add the pheasant and ginger paste, fry for a couple more minutes.

Next add the chopped tomatoes, white wine vinegar and stock.

Season and bring to a simmer, cook for 30 minutes then check the seasoning.

Serve hot with a spoonful of plain yogurt and a few sprigs of coriander.

Delicious with rice and naan bread.