Recipe: Spicy lamb chops, taken from Dishoom: From Bombay with love

19 September 2019
Recipe: Spicy lamb chops, taken from Dishoom: From Bombay with love

Succulent and richly flavoured, these chops are delicious. The first marinade helps to tenderise the meat, while the second creates deep and complex flavours as the chops are steeped in jaggery and lime over 24 hours. The combination of sweet and sour creates a wonderful harmony.

The recipe works best with thick, meaty lamb chops. Mutton works, as does goat if you can get it. Thicker chops mean you can grill for a while longer and build up some colour, and chops from the shoulder end can be particularly successful.

Ingredients

For the garlic and ginger paste

3 garlic bulbs or 180g fresh root ginger

25ml vegetable oil, plus extra to store the paste

Peel your garlic or ginger completely and roughly chop. Using a mini food processor or blender, blitz the garlic or ginger with the oil to a smooth paste. The oil should be enough to loosen the mixture; if it seems too thick, add 2-3tsp water. Place in a clean, sterilised jar and cover the surface with a thin layer of oil. Store in the fridge and use within 10 days.

Garam masala

1 black cardamom pod

4 cloves

5g black peppercorns

2 large cinnamon sticks

10g coriander seeds

5g cumin seeds

4g fennel seeds

2g star anise

1 bay leaf

2g mace blades

10g poppy seeds

2g dried rose petals

Put everything apart from the poppy seeds and rose petals into a cold, dry frying pan and place over a medium heat to warm, shaking the pan occasionally. Toast for two minutes, then turn off the heat. Add the poppy seeds and rose petals, and let the mixture cool in the pan.

Transfer the cooled spice mix to a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.

Serves 4 as a starter

8 meaty lamb cutlets

For the first marinade

10g garlic paste

5g ginger paste

1tsp malt vinegar

1/3 tsp fine sea salt

6g papaya paste (optional)

For the second marinade

2 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1tsp coriander seeds

1 clove

1 scant tbsp HP Sauce

25g coriander stalks

1 1/2tsp garam masala

25g garlic paste

35g ginger paste

1/3 tsp crushed black peppercorns

8g jaggery

35ml lime juice

5g red chilli, roughly chopped

5g green chilli, roughly chopped

5g fine sea salt

2tsp vegetable oil

To grill and serve

25g unsalted butter, melted

Mint or coriander leaves

1tbsp pomegranate seeds (optional)

Recipe

Place the lamb chops in a shallow dish. For the first marinade, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Rub the marinade into the chops, cover and refrigerate for two hours.

While the chops are in the fridge, prepare the second marinade. Warm a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin and coriander seeds along with the clove and toast for two minutes, shaking the pan to stop them from burning. Tip them straight into your mortar and pestle and leave to cool.

Blitz all of the other marinade ingredients to a paste, using a blender or mini food processor.

Grind the cooled, toasted spices to a coarse powder and add it to the paste.

When the first marinade time is up, take the chops out of the fridge and coat them with the second marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Heat the grill to high and take the chops out of the fridge. Toss them again to ensure an even coating of marinade. Place on a foil-lined baking tray and brush with melted butter.

Grill the chops for 2-3 minutes, until they start to sizzle. Turn them over, brush with melted butter and grill for a further 2-3 minutes.

Repeat until nicely caramelised. Allow the chops to rest for three minutes before serving, scattered with mint or coriander and pomegranate seeds, if you like.

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