Lamb Vindail Recipe

Lamb Vindail

The dish is really called vindail, it is not a typo. Vindail is slightly different from vindaloo. Unlike vindaloo, vindail does not contain potatoes, and the spice mix is slightly different.

Vindail is really delicious. The sauce is rich, spicy and tangy. Its a comforting dish to have on a cold day. On first sight the list of ingredients looks long but its not too bad. I skipped some of the spices that I didn't have them and the dish still turned out really delicious.

Prior to recently coming across this recipe, I had never heard of vindail, nor seen it on any menu. There are a number of vindail recipes on the internet, and they all are attributed to Rick Stein. But I don’t think Rick Stein invented it.

The original recipe is for chicken. So if you are not a fan of lamb, you can substitute with chicken. It may work with just about any other kind of meat.

Adopted from With a Glass

Lamb Vindail

Ingredients

1 kg lamb (or chicken thighs)

500 g tomatoes, chopped

10 cloves garlic, crushed

2 cm piece of cinnamon stick

1 whole clove

1 whole star anise

2 medium onions, chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons chilli powder (or more)

1/2 toasted and ground fenugreek seeds

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon salt+ more to taste

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon oil

Method

1.      Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan on medium heat.

2.      Add cinnamon, clove and star anise and cook for one minute .

3.      Add onions and cook, stirring constantly, until they are browned, about 15 minutes.

4.      Add garlic and cumin powder and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

5.      Add chilli, fenugreek, turmeric and salt and cook for 30 seconds.

6.      Add tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.

7.      Add lamb and about 200 ml water. Simmer, covered, until the lamb is soft. Add more water during cooking if it gets too dry. Just before serving, add vinegar and sugar. If the sauce is too watery, remove lid and reduce the sauce until it reaches the desired consistency.

Hot, Sweet and Sour Black Pudding Recipe

Hot, Sweet and Sour Black Pudding

At university one of my favourite Chinese dishes was sweet and sour pork. I’ve never made a sweet and sour dish so I thought why not start with hot sweet and sour black pudding. The black pudding I used was made from pigs blood, so it is sort of sweet and sour pork!

The hot, sweet and sour sauce worked really well with black pudding. If you want a quicker alternative, try black pudding with thai sweet chilli sauce. If you don’t like black pudding, this recipe will work well with pork or chicken.

Hot, Sweet and Sour Black Pudding

Adopted from Wildflour’s Cottage Kitchen

Ingredients

½ kilogram of black pudding, cubed

1 (20 oz., 566 grams) can pineapple chunks in heavy syrup or juice, undrained

¾ cup packed dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 cup regular distilled or rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Chili powder to taste

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 oz. sugar snap pea pods

8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained

16-20 sweet whole spears baby corn on the cob packed in water, rinsed and drained well

Method

1.      Heat oil in large deep frying pan and sauté black pudding until done. Set aside in a bowl. Drain and wipe the frying pan

2.      Mix cornstarch, chili powder and brown sugar. Stir in pineapple with syrup or juice, and vinegar and soy sauce.  Heat frying pan to medium heat and add cornstarch mixture

3.      Bring to boil and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Reduce heat.

4.      Add the vegetables, cover and simmer over low heat until cooked, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

5.      Add black pudding and serve.

Duck Chasseur Recipe

Duck chasseur

This was my first time trying a chasseur. Very delicious. The end result may look slightly blend or mild but don’t judge a dish by its looks. Its packed full of flavor. A very pleasant surprise. No wonder this old classic is still around.

I made three main adaptations to the original recipe. I replaced chicken with duck, button mushrooms with oyster mushrooms, and included garlic to the recipe.

Adopted from Chit Chat Chomp

Ingredients

1 kg duck pieces

1 tablespoon oil

60 grams butter

2 shallots, finely diced

125 grams oyster mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon flour

125 ml white wine

2 tablespoons brandy

2 teaspoons tomato paste

250ml chicken stock

2 teaspoons tarragon, chopped

1 teaspoon parsley, chopped (optional)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Method

1.      Heat oil and half of the butter in a frying pan or casserole over medium-high heat. Cook duck in batches until golden brown all over, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2.      Add remaining butter to the pan. Add shallot, mushrooms and garlic.

3.      Cook until onion has softened, stirring frequently, about 4 to 5 minutes

4.      Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly

5.      Add all the rest of the ingredients, except parsley and duck. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to low.

6.      Add duck and simmer for 1 hour or until duck is tender. Add parsley before serving

Duck chasseur