The Husband Cooks - Lamb Vindaloo

It's always a happy day when my husband and number one cooking partner wants to take the lead on a special weekend meal. Inevitably, despite my attempts to steer him towards my favorites (pasta and seafood), he'll gravitate towards some variation of meat and potatoes in a sauce. This is how he got his lovable nickname, the "Stew Father." 

Now I have nothing against Stew (did you read my rant on Chicken Breast?), but it's also not my idea of an exciting weekend dinner. Unless of course it's Eric Ripert's Beef Bourguignon. So you can imagine my delight when I found out that Mr.'s Meat and Potato dish was to take the form of our favorite Indian take out meal - super spicy Lamb Vindaloo. A little research on his part turned up a very straightforward recipe from BBC Food. To my surprise, none of the ingredients that were called for were particularly exotic, and most well-stocked pantries would have all the spices required - we didn't have to purchase anything extra but the Lamb and Potatoes. 

Lamb Vindaloo according to a fab recipe on BBC Food! Photo: NK 

Before we continue to the recipe, here are some handy pointers that may help.

RECIPE TIPS: 


Portioning and Ingredient Shortcuts/Substitutes - We portioned this for two to three people, and cut the recipe accordingly. For us, read: two extra-hungry people, that amounted to 1 Pound of easy-to-find pre-cut Lamb Stew Meat (the recipe instead suggests a whole Boneless Lamb Shoulder) and two medium-sized Idaho Potatoes.

We subbed in Grapeseed Oil for Sunflower Oil, which is what the recipe calls for. Using Olive Oil would probably work well too in a pinch. 

Timing - Be sure to start about two hours ahead to let the Lamb sit in the Oil, Vinegar and Salt Mixture.

Equipment - A ceramic casserole such a Le Creuset or any other oven-safe heavy ceramic pot will work well. 

Garnishes -At the risk of further compromising the authenticity of this dish, I couldn't resist adding a little color on to perk up the plate. Some leftover Scallions did the job, and Mango, a fruit that actually does make its fair share of appearances in Indian cuisine,was a nice, sweet foil to the blazing hot spices of this savory Lamb dish.  You could also serve Vindaloo with a cooling Yogurt or Raita as the recipe on BBC Food suggests. 

THE VERDICT: 
This recipe was a winner and I am so glad that my husband chose it. It was easy to prepare and came together deliciously using basic and ubiquitous ingredients. One last thing - this is really spicy! If you're anything like I am, that's one hell of a good thing. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE!