I’m a fan of Indian Chef  Suvir Saran and learned authentic Indian cooking from one of his cook books. Since he apparently likes everything spicier than most people I know can handle (and I can take some heat), I’ve adapted his Indian lamb stew recipe to my preferences.  If you enjoy the subtle tastes of a curry with 16 different seasonings, this one will certainly take you out of the routine and provide lots of eating pleasure.  It makes a great weekend meal and is well worth the effort.

The good news is that this dish uses ingredients that are generally easy to find, although the optional curry leaves may not be readily available if you don’t have an Indian grocery in your town.  Make basmati rice with cardamom pods in the cooking water to flavor it, and some mint raita on the side (recipe included below) for a complete Indian dining experience.  I highly recommend using an enameled cast iron dutch oven to cook this dish.  The heavy pan heats evenly and always delivers tender meat when the dish is finished.  All of the dry spices are available from Penzey’s spices, also highly recommended.  If your spices are more than 6 moths old, throw them away and get fresh ones.  Indian food is all about the incredible combination of spice flavors, and fresh ingredients are essential.  If you don’t have a spice grinder – go get one already!  (or you can use a mortar and pestle)

Ingredients

1 large onion cut in chunks
5 garlic cloves
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut in chunks
¼ cup canola oil
2 bay leaves
1 2 to 3 inch cinnamon stick
10 curry leaves (optional)
2 tsp cumin seed
2 tsp fennel seed
¼ tsp fenugreek powder
¾ cup crushed tomatoes
1 tsp turmeric
2 ½ pounds leg of lamb, cut in 1 inch pieces
2 tsp curry powder (we use Penzey’s Maharajah)
¼ tsp cayenne
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (we use Penzey’s Tellicherry ground in a spice grinder)
1 cup commercial canned tomato sauce
1 cup water
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

Process the onion, garlic and ginger to a paste in a food processor.  Heat the oil in the dutch oven and add bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and curry leaves.  Cook over medium high heat until the cinnamon stick starts to unfold.  Add the cumin, fennel, and fenugreek and cook briefly.  Add the ingredients from the food processor and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the crushed tomatoes and turmeric and cook a few more minutes.  Turn up the heat to high and add the lamb.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Reduce the heat to medium and add curry powder, cayenne, and black pepper.  Stir, and add the tomato sauce and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Taste for salt and adjust seasoning to taste.

While the stew is cooking, grind 1 tsp cumin seed, ½ tsp fennel seed, and one dried red chile in a spice grinder.  I grow my own cayenne peppers and dry them  for use in recipes such as this, but you can buy dried Arbol peppers from Penzey’s which are at the same heat level as cayenne peppers.  Indian groceries always have dried red chiles as well.  Heat 2 tsp canola oil in a small sauté pan and cook the ground spices over medium heat for a couple of minutes.  Stir this mixture into the stew with the chopped cilantro just before serving.  If you like your Indian food fiery, you can increase the number of red chiles by one or two.  The recipe as written here will give you a nice warm curry taste without hurting those who can’t tolerate really hot food.  But if you don’t have some heat in an Indian curry there is no point in making it!

To cool off your mouth, serve Mint Raita on the side:

2 ¼ cups plain greek yogurt (we use Cabot)
¼ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
½ of a cucumber, seeds removed and chopped finely (leave the skin on)
½ tsp toasted ground cumin (toast the seeds in a dry skillet, then cool and grind )
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp salt

Your Daily Bread

 John 1: ²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sinof the world! ³⁰ This is the One I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who has surpassed me, because He existed before me.’ ³¹ I didn’t know Him, but I came baptizing with water so He might be revealedto Israel.”

 ³² And John testified, “I watched the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him. ³³ I didn’t know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on—He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!”

 ³⁵ Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. ³⁶ When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”