Arun Kapil's green chilli lamb: Today
Fast-fried lamb mince cooked hard and fast with green chilli, cumin, coriander and spring onions until crispy at the edges and deeply savoury. Piled into cool minted yoghurt with crunchy bits, charred naan shards, and frozen cucumber grated over the top like calming little flakes of ice. Rich, fresh, spicy, cooling.
Ingredients
Serves 2–3
For the lamb
500g lamb mince (not too lean) – 10% plus fat
1 tbsp light olive oil
Spices: 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed, 1 tsp cracked black pepper
2 green chillies, finely sliced
3 spring onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, grated
Thumb-sized piece ginger, grated
Seasoning
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
Small pinch sugar
25g butter
Juice of ½ lime
Handful fresh coriander, chopped
Minted yoghurt
200g Greek yoghurt
Small handful mint leaves
Small handful coriander
Juice of ½ lemon
Pinch salt
Splash water to loosen
Radish Minted Salad
4–5 radishes, finely sliced
Small handful rocket or watercress
2 tbsp salted peanuts, crushed
1 green chilli, finely sliced
Few coriander leaves
Few mint leaves
Small handful pomegranate seeds
To finish
½ cucumber, frozen solid
Chaat masala
Lime wedges
Naan shards
1 naan bread
Melted butter
Pinch chaat masala
Method
1. Tear the naan into rough shards. Brush lightly with melted butter and a pinch of chaat masala. Toast in a hot oven or dry pan until charred at the edges and crisp in places. Set aside.
2. Blitz or finely chop the mint and coriander into the yoghurt with lemon juice, salt, and a splash of water. You want it loose enough to swoosh across the plate, not stiff and spoon-standing.
3. Get a large frying pan properly hot. Add oil, then cumin seeds and crushed coriander seeds. Let them crackle for a few seconds before adding the lamb mince. Now leave it alone for a minute or two. You want colour and crispy bits. Break it up gradually.
4. Add: the aromats: black pepper, green chillies, spring onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric salt and a pinch of sugar. Cook hard until fragrant and deeply savoury with little caramelised edges everywhere.
5. Finish with butter, a squeeze of lime juice and chopped coriander Taste. It should be spicy, savoury, bright, and just a little reckless.
AssemblySwoosh the minted yoghurt into a wide shallow bowl. Pile the hot lamb slightly off-centre. Scatter over: radishes, rocket/watercress, crushed peanuts, herbs and extra green chilli. Tuck the naan shards into the side so they stand upright with a bit of height.Then, grate the frozen cucumber directly over the top, a pinch of chaat masala and a squeeze of lime
