Dinner with Friends

Same post but different day. This week we host the Baumers after an invite for some fine dining. The offer was to go out or me to cook. The decision was Indian at our house and I quickly took a boneless lamb leg from the deep freeze.

Brenda is not crazy about lamb so I also decided to make a chicken tiki masla for her. We hit the local Indian grocer twice Saturday and picked assorted fried goodies from the cart as well as supplemented my arsenal of Indian spices and a few sauces. We, of course had to eat one samosa hot out of the case. Delicious. I planned to make Na'an and Roti but had time only to make the Na'an. I bought pre-made, uncooked roti and cooked them myself.

I used a Tandoori marinade for the chicken this time and laid off the heat. The Butter Chicken I made last week was a bit over the top with heat so I went a slightly different route this time. I used nearly a quart carton of yogurt this time around between the Lamb Vindaloo, Chicken Tiki Masala and the Na'an dough.  The lamb simmered close to four hours in the oven  and was meltingly tender.

INGREDIENTS:
4 pound boneless lamb leg cut into 2 inch cubes
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
1 1/2 tablespoons garam masala
1 onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 cup sliced fresh ginger
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
1 large onion, chopped
salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, for garnish
1 cup yogurt
(optional)

DIRECTIONS: 1. Place lamb in a large resealable plastic bag. Whisk together cider vinegar, oil, salt, tamarind concentrate, and garam masala in a bowl, and pour into the bag. Squeeze out excess air and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight. 2.Heat 2 tbls oil in a Dutch Oven. 3. Remove marinated lamb and season all sides with salt. brown in batches and set aside. Reserve marinade in the bag. 4. Combine 1 onion, garlic, ginger, cherry tomatoes, and water in a blender and pulse on and off until smooth. Set aside. 5. Combine cayenne pepper, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, dried mustard, and black pepper in a small bowl. 6. Melt clarified butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir 1 onion until softened and well-browned, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and pour in cayenne pepper mixture. Cook and stir until spices are aromatic, about 2 minutes. 7. Pour marinade from the bag into the stockpot, and stir in tomato-onion mixture and brown sugar. Bring mixture to a simmer. Place lamb in the pan and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook, turning occasionally, until meat is tender and easily pierced with a fork, 3 to 4 hours. 8. Remove lamb from the pot and cover with foil. Increase heat and simmer the sauce for a few minutes, skimming the fat from the top. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve lamb shanks with sauce spooned over the top. Garnish with cilantro. I added about 1 cup yogurt before serving.