Historically, tandoori referred to food cooked in a tandoor, a wood-fired clay oven. Often these dishes were marinated in a yoghurt and spice mix - yoghurt masala which has led to this style of marinating being called tandoori. I ate New Zealand lamb cutlets cooked in this style at Masala Bay restaurant in Mumbai.
Ingredients
- 11?2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 11?2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- seeds from 6 green cardamom pods
- 3cm piece cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 5cm piece ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1?2-1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 cup (250g) natural yoghurt
- 16 small lamb cutlets (around 750g)
Method
If you like, you can serve these with a coriander chutney, replacing half the coriander with fresh mint.
Great for finger food, they can also be served as a main course with rice and vegetables, with 3-4 cutlets per person. I use a teaspoon of Kashmiri chilli powder, which is bright red and mild. If you have a hot chilli powder use the lesser amount.
Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and dry-fry the seeds, cinnamon and cloves for 1 minute until fragrant. Cool. Grind to a powder in a spice blender or mortar and pestle. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli powder and grind to a paste. Transfer to a bowl and combine with the yoghurt.
Place the cutlets in a non-metal dish and pour the yoghurt masala over. Stir to coat the lamb well.
Cover and leave to marinate for 2 hours at room temperature or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Heat the grill or barbecue to very hot then cook the cutlets for 2 minutes each side until browned.
Makes 16.
You can also find hundreds of recipes from Cuisine, the World's Best Food Magazine, on www.cuisine.co.nz
Got a favourite recipe? Share your recipe
1 review so far
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
New user? Sign up
Write a review
You are logged in as [Logout]
All information entered below may be published.
Thank you
Your review has been submitted for approval.
Reviews are moderated and are generally published if they are on-topic and not abusive.