When Spicy Food Guy goes out for a curry, he invariably orders Lamb Vindaloo. Vindaloo, which is a Portuguese word for "wine, vinegar, and garlic", is almost always the spiciest thing found on an Indian Restaurant menu.
A strongly flavored and very spicy dish, vindallo has a strong taste of garlic, cumin, mustard, turmeric, and chiles. And lamb has the right amount of gamy flavor to really complement the spice. Note that in a pinch, Spicy Food Guy has substituted venison for the lamb, with terrific results.
The problem? Lamb Vindaloo is served as big chunks of lamb, big chunks of potatoes, and sauce. That's it. Early on in his Indian culinary adventures, Spicy Food Guy surmised that something important was missing: crunch!
So taking a lesson from his favorite Chinese dish, Kung Pao Chicken, Spicy Food Guy decided he could vastly improve his homemade Lamb Vindaloo by adding some peanuts. Bingo! The crunch of the peanuts was the perfect offset to the tender lamb and soft potatoes.
Taking the Westernized Chinese Indian fusion a step further, Spicy Food Guy cut the lamb into smaller bite size chunks, as opposed to the larger cuts of lamb usually served in Indian Restaurants. He also added some diced green and red bell peppers, and, what the hell, some dried chick peas.
The result is the spiciest curry you have ever had with all the benefits and culinary experience of chinese takeout. Some people look at highly spiced foods and say "why?" Spicy Food Guy looks at spicy foods that never were and says "Why not?"
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