Prep Time10 minsCook Time2 hrsTotal Time2 hrs 10 mins
2 Boneless American lamb shoulder roast, trimmed & cut into 2in pieces
Salt
10 Whole black peppercorns
5 Chile de arbol, stemmed, seeded & torn in half
4 Green cardamom pods
4 Cloves
1 tsp Cumin seeds or ground cumin
0.33 cup White wine vinegar
1 (2in) piece ginger, peeled & thinly sliced
1 tbsp Tamarind paste or molasses
0.50 tsp Ground turmeric
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Black mustard seeds
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Yellow onion, chopped
8 Garlic, roughly chopped
1 Red or green Thai chili or red jalapeno, stemmed & thinly sliced
1 tsp Brown sugar
1 Red bell pepper, diced (optional)
Cooked rice, bulgur, or barley for serving
1Toss lamb with 2 teaspoons salt; set aside.
2Toast peppercorns, dried chiles, cardamom, cloves, and cumin seeds in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer spices to a blender with vinegar, ginger, tamarind paste, and turmeric; blend, scraping down sides as needed, until smooth.
3Add spice purée to lamb and toss to coat; cover and refrigerate for 4 hours (or set aside at room temperature for 1 hour).
4Heat oven to 325ºF with rack set in lower-middle position.
5Heat oil in now empty Dutch oven over medium-high; cook mustard seeds and cinnamon until seeds pop, 1–2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, garlic, chilis, and sugar; cook until onion has softened and starts to brown, about 8 minutes.
6Stir in lamb and it’s marinade, 1 cup water (or white wine) and bring to a boil. Cover pot, transfer to oven and cook for 1 ½ hours until lamb is tender.
7Using wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scrape any browned bits from sides of pot and stir into sauce; stir in bell pepper, if using, and let stand, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Skim and discard grease from surface of sauce. Season vindaloo with salt to taste and serve.
* leave the seeds in half of the chiles for added heat. If you like a lot of spice, keep the seeds in all of the chiles, if you like it mild, remove the seeds in all of the chiles.
**if you do not have black mustard seeds, go ahead and use yellow. If you don’t have yellow either, feel free to leave them out altogether.
To de-fat the vindaloo even more: make the lamb a day ahead of time, store it in an airtight container and scoop the chilled layer of fat off the top.
Ingredients
2 Boneless American lamb shoulder roast, trimmed & cut into 2in pieces
Salt
10 Whole black peppercorns
5 Chile de arbol, stemmed, seeded & torn in half
4 Green cardamom pods
4 Cloves
1 tsp Cumin seeds or ground cumin
0.33 cup White wine vinegar
1 (2in) piece ginger, peeled & thinly sliced
1 tbsp Tamarind paste or molasses
0.50 tsp Ground turmeric
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Black mustard seeds
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Yellow onion, chopped
8 Garlic, roughly chopped
1 Red or green Thai chili or red jalapeno, stemmed & thinly sliced
1 tsp Brown sugar
1 Red bell pepper, diced (optional)
Cooked rice, bulgur, or barley for serving
Directions
1Toss lamb with 2 teaspoons salt; set aside.
2Toast peppercorns, dried chiles, cardamom, cloves, and cumin seeds in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer spices to a blender with vinegar, ginger, tamarind paste, and turmeric; blend, scraping down sides as needed, until smooth.
3Add spice purée to lamb and toss to coat; cover and refrigerate for 4 hours (or set aside at room temperature for 1 hour).
4Heat oven to 325ºF with rack set in lower-middle position.
5Heat oil in now empty Dutch oven over medium-high; cook mustard seeds and cinnamon until seeds pop, 1–2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, garlic, chilis, and sugar; cook until onion has softened and starts to brown, about 8 minutes.
6Stir in lamb and it’s marinade, 1 cup water (or white wine) and bring to a boil. Cover pot, transfer to oven and cook for 1 ½ hours until lamb is tender.
7Using wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scrape any browned bits from sides of pot and stir into sauce; stir in bell pepper, if using, and let stand, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Skim and discard grease from surface of sauce. Season vindaloo with salt to taste and serve.
