It all started when I accidentally bought two containers of Trader Joe’s very good raita, that yogurt-based Indian sauce. It happens.
When I got home and realized my mistake, I figured I’d better cook a lot of Indian food that week.
First I cooked boneless chicken thighs in Seeds of Change‘s Jalfrezi simmer sauce. (The bottle and website claim it’s medium hot, but to me it’s quite mild…). I made a good batch of basmati rice to have on hand, too. The raita was delicious with that chicken.
Then over the weekend, I cooked a New Zealand rack of lamb I’d also happened to buy at TJ’s that same trip. I coated it in oil and plenty of spice. I had some Madras curry powder from Nirmala’s Kitchen that had a nice tang to it. But I wanted more heat, so I added some Kashmiri Mirch, the brick red chili powder from that region of India that is used in rogan josh. That I buy at the Indian Market up Rte 27, Patel Cash & Carry.
I pan fried the rack in a little grapeseed oil for about 10 minutes (those spices got real smoky, so I opened a window and avoided breathing that in), then put it in a 400° oven for about 20 minutes, until it registered 125° on the meat thermometor. Obviously, since so many of the juices ran out, I should have let it rest longer than the heartbeat I did before cutting into it. The lamb was amazing. In spite of the pungent smoke that made me cough, it was not too spicy at all. I ate half of it (on that basmati rice with the raita) then took this bloody photo of the rest, which I wrapped for leftovers. It’s a glorious mess as you can see.
NJ SPICE 