Well the stores and streets are decked out for Christmas and I think I just heard my first holiday commercial on the radio. Let the festivities begin!
But first, a short pause from the season’s traditional flavors. A quick read through this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Braised Cardamom-Curry Lamb, was not conjuring up the holiday spirit for me, and after the disaster which was my braised pork, I went into this week with more than a little trepidation. Memories of throwing away a big pot of bone dry pork kicked in while I was at the market and prompted me to buy a half portion of lamb, just in case.
It turns out that I need not have worried. After simmering on the stovetop for over an hour, the lamb came out of the pot tender and perfectly cooked. With the addition of potatoes, apples, and a fragrant melange of spices, the sauce was also delicious. And yet…
Maybe it was my curry powder, or maybe it was the addition of apples and honey, but this recipe was discernibly sweet instead of spicy, and I prefer a curry with more heat. That said, I thought this was a great cooking method and will use it again, but next time I’ll leave out a few of the sweeteners and add more heat. Lots more!
one expat's life 
I left the honey out of this one – figured it didn’t need and glad I did! Def needed some more heat but I liked it just the same.
You’re right, the Christmas season didn’t go well in my mind with this week’s lamb recipe either!
And in Australia we are already spending most weekends at the beach, so cold prawns and mangoes are more appealing than stews and curries for us at the moment!
Having said all that, your curry does look great though! I’ll have to try it some point!
I really love that our little group has cooks from all over the world, but it probably would feel a bit off to be cooking some of the more seasonal dishes completely out of season. Lamb stew in the middle of summer definitely does not sound appealing. Have fun at the beach!
You can have my madras curry recipe. Ours turned out to be very hot and that was nice with the sweetness of the recipe. At least that’s what I thought, the rest of the family did not agree on the hot taste. Maybe we can exchange the recipes?
Your curry does look great. Have a nice weekend.
I love nice spicy foods so I probably would have loved yours. I actually did not make my own curry powder this time and I do suspect that might have been the problem. Dorie called for Madras curry, and last time I was at the market the sales lady stuck a little sample of Madras curry in my bag as a freebie. At the time I thought it was quite fortuitous, but maybe I would have been better off with my own. Oh well.
Mine didn’t have heat, exactly. More of a nice, warm glow in my mouth after I swallowed. It was definitely sweet, but I was glad it wasn’t sickeningly sweet. With the figs and raisins and all, I was afraid it would be. Glad you mostly enjoyed it. I was a bit worried ahead of time, too, b/c none of Dorie’s stews have come out right for me so far. I haven’t been able to eat any of them, until now. Hooray!
I thought this was fun to make. Mine turned out ok, and I served it with a tart cranberry chutney – that might have offset the sweetness. Glad you enjoyed it. (btw, when I was out yesterday, heard Christmas music on someone’s radio – still a bit early for me too…)
Ah, I thought the same as you and made this mega spicy – so glad I did! I was afraid it would be too sweet otherwise.
I left off the raisins & probably would back off on a portion of the apples if I remake.
I was totally horrifed when a local radio station switched over to all Christmas music the day after Halloween – too soon. I want to enjoy one holiday before the next gets shoved down my throat…
Have a great weekend!
I agree, too soon for Christmas carols. I LOVE Christmas so I am not being grinchy, but why can’t they wait until December!
Looks great! I didn’t find this too sweet, but then I’m not a fan of hot stuff, so maybe this is the right kind of curry for me. I was, however, surprised by how delicious & tender the lamb was!
Have a great weekend!
The lamb was perfect! So tender and tasty. I too was really pleased with how it came out.
The chunks of lamb definitely look very tender. Yay for braising success! When you put apple and honey together in the same sentence, you immediately reminded me of the typical Japanese curry roux. They actually come in Apple & Honey flavour!
Oh, your curry looks amazing! I might have to make this when hubby goes out of town 🙂
The stores have been playing xmas music for weeks now. The problem is, I don’t mind it … I’m totally ready for xmas by Dec. 1st … but by the time xmas actually rolls around, I just can’t listen to another carol.
I thought the stew was amazing, but also took steps to cut the sweetness, first, by leaving out nasty raisins. 🙂
I halved the recipe too. More out of $ question of 3 pounds of expensive meat, but I almost wished I didn’t. It was so good non? It’s interesting you found it so sweet. I wonder if I hit the right cord dropping the raisins…. interesting…
Wow..yours looks delicious…I wish I had cooked this but due to sore throat I have to give this a miss…but looking at how the rest of Doristas come out with this dish makes me happy just the same 🙂 Have a nice weekend! Will be joining FFWD next Friday 🙂
Sorry to hear that, hope you feel better soon.
It had just the right amount of heat for us, but we are wimps when it comes to curry. 🙂 Your dish looks so very good and it has just the right amount of sauce. I am glad you made this and enjoyed it. I don’t know about you, but I am not ready for the holidays. Ready or not, though, they are coming! Hope you have a great weekend.
Your dish looks fabulous! And I love your photos! So glad you enjoyed this dish. It seems to be the trend…can’t wait to give it a try.
The curry powder I used was labelled hot, but it tasted just right. I suspect it was the sweetness from the squash I used, plus the honey and figs. There’s an amazing amount of variability in ingredients, I fear. I agree this is a technique to be used as a base for other stews. Yum! Happy Thanksgiving (what’s it like to celebrate as an expat, or do you?)
Of course, Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday and I celebrate it wherever I am. The ingredients are a little harder to come by, but that doesn’t stop me.
It is sweet, which isn’t what one expects with stew. I enjoyed it, though, especially the next day. Enjoy your holiday tomorrow!