Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Lamb Vindaloo

Made the lamb vindaloo recipe from my "An Indian Housewife's Recipe Book" (Laxmi Khurana - Amazon link) although I halved the chilies and the cayenne pepper to make it acceptable to my wife. The chilies were freshly picked from my plants.

The dish was excellent: the lamb melted in the mouth, the potatoes were nicely filling, and the sauce just right. The only minor complaint I have is not the recipe's fault, but rather the garam masala I bought.

Garam masala is a mix of spices - that much I knew - and I never realised how much variety there could be between mixes. The mix I bought (at Sabores del Mundo in Madrid) is made by Natco, and uses a little too much cinnamon for my liking. Indeed, as I was cooking the vindaloo I actually had to check I hadn't stuck cinnamon in by mistake! It's not going to stop me using the pot, at least not for the moment, but I'm certainly going to be looking out for another brand to replace it.

As mentioned, the following recipe uses half the chilies and cayenne of the original.

450g potatoes
50ml cooking oil
1 large onion finely chopped
3 fresh green chilies, chopped
3 tsp tomato puree
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ginger powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp garam masala
450g diced lamb
1 tbsp water
Chopped green coriander for garnish

Peel and dice potatoes into 1 inch cubes.
Heat oil and add onion, chilis and cook until onion is golden brown.
Add tomato puree and spices and the lamb. Mix well, lower the heat and simmer gently for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add the water (you can add more if you need to thin it down) and the potatoes. Let simmer for about 35 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.

Serve with plain rice.

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