Slow-Cooker Lamb Vindaloo

I need to use my slow cooker more often.  It’s one of the best ways to turn inexpensive ingredients into a knockout dinner.  Take this lamb vindaloo, for example.  All you need are a few veggies, spices, and an inexpensive cut of meat and, just like that, you are an incredible chef.  I also love that cooking times in the slow cooker are not very strict.  When something can cook for 6-8 hours, you don’t have to time things exactly.  Just serve it when you’re hungry.  I made this vindaloo last Sunday and invited a friend over to share it with me before we headed to a concert.  She arrived to my house fashionably late, but there was no worry about dinner having gotten cold.

I used a recipe from the website Critical MAS.  He made his with pork but suggested that lamb would be a good alternative.  I agreed.  I thought the spices were perfect and the lamb and potatoes were incredibly tender.  I served it with some basmati rice that I fancied up with some butter, turmeric, and mustard seeds.  Bonus: the whole meal was just as good reheated the next day.

Slow-Cooker Lamb Vindaloo
makes 4 servings
adapted from Critical MAS

Ingredients
- 2 medium white potatoes, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 lb lamb stew meat
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1-2 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp coriander
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 roma tomatoes
-  1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 cups vegetable broth

Place chopped potatoes in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Lay the onion, lamb, garlic, and ginger on top.

In a separate bowl, combine spices.  Use a blender or food processor to pulverize tomatoes and mix into the spices to form a paste.  Add to the slow cooker and stir.

Add red wine vinegar and broth.  Turn slow cooker onto high for an hour and then drop to low for an additional 4-5 hours.  Serve with basmati rice.

* I added this recipe to this week’s, Mix it Up Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Fat Tuesday, Fight Back Friday and Fresh Bites Friday.

Mutter Paneer

Before I moved to the foodie-land of Portland, I lived in a small Minnesota college town.  There wasn’t a lot in the way of restaurants, just the requisite pizza, sandwich shops, and a pub or two.  The one option for more worldly cuisine was an Indian restaurant and it was by far my favorite place to get dinner in town.  That was where I first learned about mutter paneer and my life hasn’t been the same since.  I immediately fell in love with the aromatic spices, sweet green peas, and chewy paneer cheese all covered in a rich and creamy sauce.  I can hardly bring myself to order anything else at an indian restaurant now that I know about it.  It’s a funny thing that I’ve never tried making it at home until this week!

I served it with Whole Foods brand naan for dinner last night to make my life easier but I mixed the leftovers with quinoa for lunch today liked that even better!  If you want to be more traditional, serve it over basmati rice.

Mutter Paneer
serves 4-6
adapted from Lisa’s Kitchen

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tbs ground coriander
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp cayenne
- 2 Tbs butter, divided
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 8 oz fresh paneer, cubed
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 cups tomatoes, diced (I actually Pomi brand chopped tomatoes since fresh ones aren’t in season)
-  2 cups full-fat plain yogurt
- 1 lb peas (defrost if using frozen)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 Tbs garam masala

1. In a small bowl, mix water, coriander, turmeric, paprika, and cayenne until a paste is formed.  Set aside.

2. In a large pot heat 1 Tbs butter and olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add paneer and cook until browned on all sides, stirring constantly.  This should take 5 minutes or so.  Remove paneer from pan with a slotted spoon and set on a paper towel to drain.

3. Add cumin, black mustard and fennel to the heated oil and cook until you hear the spices start popping, about 1 minute.  Immediately add another Tbs butter and the spice paste.  Cook until most of the water has evaporated.

4.  Add tomatoes and allow to bubble and thicken for about 10 minutes.  Add yogurt, peas, paneer, salt, and garam masala.  Simmer until heated through.  Serve with rice, naan, or quinoa.

* I added this post to this week’s Real Food 101, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Fat Tuesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, Fresh Bites Friday and Fight Back Friday.

Aloo Gobi (One-Pot Dinner)

I’m a big fan of one-pot meals.  When my dinner starts having too many separate components, I usually fail miserably at getting the timing of one (or all) of them right.  It feels so much easier to throw everything in a pot and call it dinner.  I was originally planning on making a batch of aloo gobi and some quinoa or rice to serve it with but once I had my aloo gobi ingredients simmering away, I couldn’t stop myself from throwing in the quinoa along with everything else.  The end result was a big pot of veggies, grains, and chickpeas that will definitely be just as satisfying as leftovers as it was for lunch today.

The quinoa is definitely not traditional Indian fare, but I included it to add extra substance and nutrition.  Rice would be another good option but you may need to play with the amount of water to get the right consistency.  Enjoy!

One-Pot Aloo Gobi
serves 8

Ingredients
- 1 Tbs coconut oil or butter
- 3 small red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 Tbs curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp ground clove
- 3 cups water
- 1 small head cauliflower, chopped
- 1 cup green beans, chopped
- 1 Tbs tomato paste
- 1 cup dry quinoa

1.  Melt butter or coconut oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and add onion and potatoes.  Sautee until onions are soft, 5-7 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another minute.

2.  Add salt, curry powder, cumin, cloves, and water.  Bring to a boil.

3.  Add remaining ingredients and cook until vegetables are soft and quinoa has soaked up most of the extra water, about 20-30 minutes.