lamb with indian flair, made easy

It all started with lamb shoulder chops on sale at the grocery store - my boyfriend cannot say no to lamb that's on sale. Then I came up with the idea of making a potato pancake (e.g., giant latke). I feel like we haven't been as creative in our meals lately, and this seemed like a good way to get the crunch we've been unable to resist in potatoes (hence all the crispy chips or fries), but in a different format. And of course we added some squash in there, because, as much as we love our CSA, we are getting inundated with squash that we just have to find ways to use.

But here is where genius sets in: my boyfriend added masala simmer sauce to the shredded squash and potato. 

This of course made perfect sense, since lamb goes wonderfully with Indian spices. Indian cuisine is probably one of the most difficult to master in terms of balancing so many different spices (the masala sauce we added contained - among other things - coriander, cumin, fenugreek leaves, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon and cloves), so having this pre-made sauce on hand made it easy for us to get that in a short amount of time.

Pan-seared lamb shoulder chop served on a potato, squash & masala pancake, topped with vinegar-marinated cucumbers