I absolutely love the rich red color of this curry. The only way you can get this bright red is using dried chilies. Chili powder can be substituted, but it tends to just add heat without the smoky flavor of dried chilies. I didn’t have any Kashmiri chilies on hand (I had just run out the week before!), so I used 7 dried California chilies – usually reserved for weekend Chili, but I really didn’t want to use chili powder. You can roast the dried chilies beforehand if you want to enhance that smoky flavor, but allow it to cool completely before grinding or else if will create a hot powder that will BURN when you finish grinding.

So you may have noticed (or you will if you read til the end) that this recipe did not get a ‘Pakistani’ tag. Vindaloo is a south Indian (Goa) dish with a few ingredients that I had to search through the back of the spice cabinet for. Most exotic of the spices were poppy seeds and curry leaves. While most of the recipe calls for spices that I always use for lamb curry, adding poppy seeds, curry leaves, tamarind, and vinegar, completely changes the taste of the curry to something tangy and exciting.

What can I say? Lamb curry is my comfort food. However, when you make your favorite dishes so often they sometimes need a jolt to reengage your taste buds and this Vindaloo certainly delivers. Let’s get started!

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Lamb shoulder or leg bone-in (2″ pieces)
• 1 medium Onion (finely sliced)
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 5-7 dried Curry Leaves
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 Red Potatoes (quartered) – optional

For the marinade:

• 14-15 Kashmiri Chilies (or Chili Powder to taste)
• 1 tsp Poppy Seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
• 1/4 tsp Black Peppercorn
• 6-8 Cloves
• 3 Green Cardamom
• 3″ stick of Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground Turmeric
• 1/2 tbsp Tamarind concentrate
• 1 tbsp Garlic Paste
• 1 tbsp Ginger Paste
• 2 tbsp Cider Vinegar
• Water

Method

Prepare the marinade:

Grind all the whole spices together. Whisk in the Turmeric, I also added the Salt and Sugar to the marinade instead of during the curry cooking stage. In a large mixing bowl add the spice mix and the Tamarind, Garlic paste, Ginger paste, Vinegar, and a few tablespoons of water to thin out the marinade. Mix in the Lamb. Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs.

At least two hours later…

In a large pot, saute the sliced Onions in Oil over medium heat. Once the onions are translucent, add the meat along with the marinade. Once the meat has browned (I couldn’t tell if it was brown – it just looked red to me so I let it cook for 5-10 minutes), add enough water to cover the meat. 2-3 cups usually, more if you want a thinner curry. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a low simmer. Add the Curry Leaves. Cover and allow to simmer untouched for 2 hrs or until the meat is cooked through and tender. If adding Potatoes: After the first 1 1/2 hrs, you can toss in the Potatoes, cover and continue to cook for another 30 minutes.

Garnish with Cilantro. Serve with Basmati rice, naan, or roti. Enjoy!

P.S. If adding potatoes, they will soak up the curry. This is ideal and will make a juicy potato, but will also reduce the overall spiciness of the dish. So measure accordingly and add more chilies if you want to maintain a certain level of heat.