Vindaloo Lamb Chops

A delicious twist to the classic vindaloo! The lamb chops are seared and then tossed in the aromatic and flavourful vindaloo spice paste. An excellent appetizer for your next party.

Whenever you are learning to cook a dish or experiment with a new cuisine, it is very important to pay attention to the basics.

Don’t try and go fusion and modern twists the very first time. Go traditional and learn to cook and perfect the dish as it has always been done. And since there are innumerable versions of the same recipe floating around on cyber world, do your own bit of research before narrowing in on a recipe that closely identifies to the original.

I thought of speaking about this today because I see a lot of people creating so called ‘fusion’ dishes without having a real understanding of the original. Now I don’t have a problem with fusion or modern, I do it myself all the time but only after I have almost perfected the original. And why is this important? Because it helps us to learn the basics, have a real understanding of how and why the dish or recipe came to be, a bit of history and also because it helps us to preserve the original which seems to be fast disappearing from today’s world.

For example, the vindaloo. One of the most popular Indian curries in the world but also one that is much misrepresented. The secret to a good vindaloo lies in the spice paste; get it right and you get the dish right. I got the recipe for a traditional vindaloo around 2 years back from a Goan source and I have made the spice paste so many times to get the exact balance which lends the right flavour complexity to the final dish.

Once I got it right, I began to experiment with the spice paste to use it in different avatars like today’s dish – the vindaloo lamb chops.

The idea for this dish came while preparing for a party. I wanted to do a lamb chops starter but also wanted to do a quick Indian version of the same. So the thought of using the vindaloo spice paste came into mind, especially since I always have a stash stored in my freezer. It’s a dish that comes together so easily especially if you have the marinade ready beforehand.

Succulent, delicately frenched lamb chops smothered with the lipsmacking vindaloo marinade, pan fried and finished off with a dash of tomato sauce.

The perfect weekend starter…..and fingerlickin’ good!

Print Recipe

Vindaloo Lamb Chops

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 4 people

Author: Dhanya Samuel

Ingredients

For the vindaloo marinade:

• 3 dried red chillies
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp black cardamom seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 5 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon bark
• 10 black peppercorns
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 4 green chillies
• 75 ml vinegar keep tasting so that you don’t go overboard
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger

For the lamb chops:

• 8 lamb chops; cleaned and frenched
• 3 tbsp vindaloo marinade
• Salt to season
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1-2 tbsp tomato sauce/ketchup
• 2 sprigs coriander leaves for garnish

Instructions

Making the marinade:

• Dry roast all the spices apart from turmeric powder until fragrant. Once cooled, grind the spices with the turmeric powder and blend to a fine powder. Add the chillies, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic and ginger and blend until smooth (or if you have full faith in your blender like I do, then chuck the whole lot and grind it all with the vinegar). Add half the vinegar and grind, taste and add more vinegar as you go. If you think that the vinegar is enough, add a bit of water to grind the spices and aromatics to a fine consistency. (Refer notes)
• In a nonreactive bowl, place the lamb chops and season with salt. Then add 1 heaped tbsp of the vindaloo marinade. Mix well to coat the lamb chops and marinate overnight or at least for 4-6 hours.
• Allow the lamb chops to come to room temperature before cooking.
• Heat oil in a large, flat pan; just as it reaches smoking hot place the lamb chops and sear on high heat for a minute. Turn over and sear the other side for another minute. Lower the heat and cook on both sides for another 2-3 minutes.
• Remove the lamb chops and keep aside. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp of the vindaloo marinade and 1 tbsp tomato sauce, mix well on low heat. Taste and add more tomato sauce if necessary. After heating for a minute, add the lamb chops and mix well so that it gets evenly coated with the sauce. Allow to sit in the sauce mixture for a minute and remove.
• Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

Notes

• The measurements given makes more than the required amount of vindaloo marinade; the rest can be frozen in batches and used whenever necessary

• Lamb chops require very less time to cook. Avoid overcooking or the meat can get quite rubbery.

• Alternately, you can grill or oven cook the lamb chops and finish off in the sauce.