Start off by preheating your oven to 160 degrees Celsius, and then slice the apricots and prunes into strips. Pit the dates and slice these too, and then roughly chop the almonds.

Finely chop the onions, and separate and peel the cloves of garlic before finely chopping as well. Chop the red pepper into thick strips and then take the lamb and cut the chunks into large bite-sized pieces, if the chunks are especially big.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil and the butter and then add in the chopped onion and garlic and sauté gently until it softens. Remove from the pan and then in the same pan, lightly fry the lamb chunks until browning slightly all over - about 2 minutes or so in total.

In a large cast-iron pot with a lid, or a dutch oven, place all the solid ingredients, including the ginger and cinnamon and pour the water over the top before stirring the contents gently. The water should just come to the top of the solid ingredients - you may need a little more or less than the stated amount.

Cover the dish and place in the oven for one hour, and then remove the lid and cook for another hour or so, until the liquid has reduced down and the stew has thickened.

Remove from the oven and serve as desired - with bread, rice or potatoes for example.