Lamb Vindaloo Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 3.5 hours on stovetop, 1 hour instant pot/pressure cooker, 8 hours 15 minutes slow cooker
Serves: 4 with rice
Ingredients Needed
- 1kg/2.2lbs lamb shoulder, boneless
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 large onions, peeled and sliced
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
- 3 tablespoons ginger paste
- 100g/3.5ozs. tomato paste
- 1/4 cup/60ml/2fl oz white wine or brandy
- 2 beef stock cubes
- 5 cups water plus more if needed
- Salt to taste (around 3-4 teaspoons)
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
Spice Mix
- 4 teaspoons ground cumin
- 4 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
- 2 teaspoons whole black mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoon grounds cardamom
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
- 6-12 dried red chillies (go according to your taste) or 2 small red fresh chillies
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 FRY - First cut up lamb into large chunks, around 1.5-2 inches. Add all of the spices (cumin, turmeric, fenugreek, black mustard seeds, cardamom, cloves, black pepper) into a large, dry saucepan or pot on medium heat and toast for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add oil and fry the onions in the spice mixture until soft. Then add the garlic and fry for 1 minute. Then add the ginger and tomato paste and fry for another 30 seconds. Add the lamb pieces to the pan and brown on each side. Then add the brandy and use this to deglaze the pan (remove any sticky bits on the pan's surface).
Step 2 SIMMER - Add the bay leaves and chillies and crumble the beef stock cubes in. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a simmer and cook on very low heat for 3 hours or until the lamb is very tender. You want the sauce bubbling slightly but nothing more as this is a gentle cook. Every 30 minutes check that there is enough water adding more if needed.
Step 3 SEASON - When the lamb is super tender, season with salt and sugar to taste. Serve with steamed brown or white basmati rice.
Personal Note
Speaking of lamb, I recently invited Queen Viv, Miss America and Carla over for our Autumn lamb dinner. This was the first time Carla had met Queen Viv and Miss America but I had an inkling they'd get on well and they got on superbly.
One thing that I've always wanted to make was a 3D lamb cake. And I thought that the people that would appreciate it most would be Queen Viv and Miss America with their crazy sense of humour. So I brought the cake out and they got me straight away.
But the one that was really transfixed by the lamb cake was Teddy Elliott. He stared at it intently for a good minute. It got so funny that everyone noticed his staring. We brought him closer and he sniffed at it but didn't attempt to eat it. It was as if he were thinking, "Mama is that you?".
And a few days later he was sitting on the bed while I was working out and I saw his pose and saw that indeed, he does position himself sitting like the lamb cake!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like spicy, bold curries or do you prefer milder, creamier curries?