Author Notes
Chickpeas with spice, herbs and lemon are a street snack in Pakistan called Chaat, with bursts of Chaat masala, made up of piquant black salt, dried mango powder, cumin, coriander seeds and black pepper, its a salivating heady mixture that entices all the senses. Topped with lashings of sour tamarind chutney and coriander mint chutney, these are tantalising combinations that speak of a flavour of Pakistan. Served here with tamarind and brown sugar marinated grilled lamb cutlets is just a wonderful reminiscent flavour of home. —Sumayya Usmani
Ingredients
- For the Tamarind lamb marinade:
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4
lamb cutlets
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2 tablespoons
tamarind paste
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2 teaspoons
brown sugar
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1 teaspoon
Chaat masala ( Substitute Chaat masala by adding 1/2 tsp each of dry roasted ground cumin, coriander, brown sugar, salt and lemon juice to the tamarind paste)
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1/2 teaspoon
garlic puree
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Oil to brush the grill with
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Salt to taste
- For the spicy chickpea salad:
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1
tin chickpeas, or 250 g of pre-soaked dried and boiled chickpeas
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1 teaspoon
each of dry roasted and ground cumin and coriander seeds
-
1/2 teaspoon
red chilli flakes
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1 tablespoon
each of chopped mint and coriander leaves
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Handful each of Pomodoro baby tomatoes, spinach, chopped cooked beetroo
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Salt to taste
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1 piece
Paneer cheese, chargrilled with lamb, cut into small pieces
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Juice of half a lemon
Directions
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Assemble salad by combine all the spicy chickpea salad ingredients above, place on plate. For the dry roasted red chilli, coriander and cumin seeds, heat a dry pan and roast until light brown, then bash in a mortar and pestle.
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Marinate the lamb by combining the ingredients for the lamb cutlets above, leave for few minutes. Brush or spray some oil on a grill pan and chargrill the paneer followed by the lamb, until cooked to desired time. Serve on top of the chickpea Chaat salad topped with a sprinkling of any remaining Chaat masala.
Sumayya is a food writer and cookery teacher who grew up in Pakistan, but has now found home in Glasgow. Sumayya is passionate about sharing the flavours of her homeland with a view to highlight Pakistani cuisine as a distinct one. The author or two cookbooks: Summers Under The Tamarind Tree (Frances Lincoln) and Mountain Berries and Desert Spice (Frances Lincoln, out April 2017), her writing reminisces about food and memories growing up in Pakistan. She writes for many publications, appears on television, and co-presents BBC Kitchen Cafe weekly, on BBC Radio Scotland.
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