Lamb Curry

A complex, spicy lamb curry, Indian or Thai style, is perfect for chilly winter evenings.

* Maui Beach Cafe: Chef Mako Segawa-Gonzales makes a Panang lamb curry with his own Thai red curry sauce of roasted chiles, coconut milk, basil, mint and spices. In the curry go lamb, broccoli, eggplant, squash, carrots and bamboo shoots and it’s served family-style in a big bowl with a side of rice. Vegetarians can substitute tofu for lamb. (Lamb curry, $10.95.) Maui Beach Cafe, 1019 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 209-0494.

* Obachine: At Wolfgang Puck’s pan-Asian restaurant, chef Naoki Uchiyama uses boneless leg of lamb in a South Indian curry made with carrots, celery, apples, pineapple, bananas, coconut milk, tomatoes and traditional curry spices. It’s served over basmati rice with cumin, mustard seed and raisins. (Lamb curry, $16.95.) Obachine, 242 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 274-4440.

* Bombay Cafe: Bombay Cafe has moved from Santa Monica Boulevard to Pico Boulevard, but everything seems the same--the menu, the color scheme and the lamb curries. There’s the very hot lamb masala, boneless lamb stewed a long time with red chiles, onions, ginger and garlic--it’s a thick, very spicy sauce. The milder lamb makhni is boneless chunks of lamb marinated with green papaya, roasted in the tandoor oven and serve in a saffron-tomato cream sauce. You can have the lamb masala as a “frankie,” wrapped in a roti (flatbread) along with marinated onions and tamarind and green chile chutneys. (Lamb curries, $10 to $13; lamb frankie $7.50.) Bombay Cafe, 12021 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles,(310) 473-3388.

* All India Cafe: There’s a basic lamb curry on the menu at this Pasadena place--a medium-hot one with ginger, garlic, fresh tomatoes and classic curry spices. On request, the kitchen will make lamb sag (with spinach), lamb masala (thick and spicy) or lamb vindaloo (much spicier). A new All India Cafe, with the same menu, opens next week in Santa Monica. (Lamb curries, $8.95.) All India Cafe, 39 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, (626) 440-0309; 12113 Santa Monica Blvd., (310) 442-5250.

* Rajdoot Indian Cuisine: There are seven different lamb curries at this Artesia restaurant. For a mild curry, try the South Indian korma with cream and cashews. For medium heat, there’s Kashmiri roghan josh, with spices said to warm you up. And for a very spicy, try the Punjabi lamb cooked with homemade pickles. (Lamb curries, $10.95.) Rajdoot Indian Cuisine, 11833 E. Artesia Blvd., Artesia, (562) 860-6500.