Rich Sharples' Blog

A few people have asked for this recipe and I’ve now refined it sufficiently that it might be generally useful to others; if you have recommendations for improvements – feel free to post a comment.

Vindaloo is a very popular Indian curry in the UK – it’s much less common in India; in fact it’s not even an Indian recipe – “Carne de Vinha d’ Alho” was introduced to Goa from the Portuguese. There are long threads of history  running through the foods we eat (less so for Pop-tarts) – it defines culture just as much as music, stories, etc.

OK, enough of the “Food Etemology” – on to the recipe. The trick is to cook the lamb (or beef if you prefer) so that it breaks apart with at the slightest encounter with a fork.  To do that – you have to cook it slowly – and the easiest way is with a slow-cooker. This recipe needs a fair amount of preparation and a bit of planning but very little actual work or attention – you need to marinate the meat for 12 hours and cook for 6, then let stand for 2 before serving.

Marinate (12 hours)

• 2 lbs of quality lean lamb (or beef) cubed
• 6 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1 Tablespoon of fresh ginger – chopped
• Qtr Cup of Rice Wine Vinegar
• Qtr Cup of Olive Oil

Mix this together and marinate overnight.

Cooking (8 hours)

• Line the bottom of the slow-cooker with the marinated meat – the marinate should go in too – waste nothing !
• Finely chop 2 onions – fry until they start to caramelize (ie. go brown and mushy)
• Throw the cooked onions on top of the marinated meat
• Mix together the following spices :
  • 1 Tsp Ground Cumin
  • 3 Tsp Turmeric
  • 1.5 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 2 Tsp Paprika
  • 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • [optional] half to a whole finely chopped fresh chili pepper (variety and quantity depend on your taste) – there’s already enough Pepper and Mustard to make this recipe “mild”
• Sprinkle the spices on top of the meat and onions
• Add 1 cup of stock (beef, chicken, vegetable – whatever)
• Add 2 cups of diced tomatoes

Don’t mix this around too much – you want the Meat to be in direct contact with the heat source for the best results.

Cook this for about 4 hours then add a cup of diced red peppers. Use this opportunity to taste and see if you need to add any salt or spice.

Cook for another 2 hours.

At this point you’re pretty much done – you may need to thicken the sauce or “cool it down” with coconut milk but you can let this stand for as long as you want – it will just get more flavourful.

Serve with Rice, Naan Bread and Mint / Cucumber Yoghurt.

While I typically drink beer with Spicy / Indian food – I’m interest in wine ideas – pairing the lamb is easy enough but the spice throws most recommendations off.  Leave a comment if you have any ideas.

Tip – if you use a slow cooker / crock pot to make this – if you can, stick it out on the deck to cook otherwise your house (and everything in it) will smell like an Indian Restaurant for the next week.

Tip – I love cilantro but for many it completely overpowers their food – so I prefer to serve it as a garnish so people can decide how much, if any, they want.

Tags: curry, Food, indian, recipe, vindaloo