Tandoori lamb and slaw

After reading fellow FatSteak clubber Dave's Buttermilk Fried Chicken, I remembered yoghurt has the same tenderising qualities as buttermilk.

The marinade in this recipe uses lemon juice and yoghurt to tenderise the meat. Here I've used lamb leg steaks, packed with flavour, but as they work hard they can be a little tough. You can swap out the lamb for any other meat. Chicken thighs cut into big chunks and threaded on skewers would work perfectly.

I cooked the lamb on a solid cast iron griddle pan to give a charred taste and some great markings on the meat. Cooking on a BBQ would be equally as good, if not better, imparting that smoky flavour. Under a hot grill would work too.

As you may be discovering by now, during the summer months, it's all about the slaw for me. This gem firmly puts the vegetables in the spotlight and uses a very light dressing. The star of this dish is the lamb, so I didn't want anything to overpower with other big flavours.

Marinade your lamb

• In a large bowl grate in a clove of garlic and a piece of peeled ginger
• Add 100g of yoghurt
• Mix in the spices
• Add the zest and juice of a whole lemon and give it a good mix
• Add the lamb steaks and coat well
• Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight

 

Make your slaw

• Grab a large bowl
• Shred the red cabbage
• Thinly slice the red pepper, removing all of the white pith
• Grate in the carrots
• Thinly slice the spring onions
• Add thinly sliced flecks of red chilli - how much is up to your heat tolerance and how spicy the chilli is
• Drizzle over the juice of half a lemon and the oil
• Using your hand give the slaw a good mix, taste and season

Simple mint sauce

• Finely chop a handful of fresh mint
• Mix into 50g of yoghurt
• Season to taste

 

Cook the lamb

• Take the meat out of the fridge about an hour before you want to cook
• Heat a griddle pan over a high heat
• Slap on the steaks and leave for at least 3 minutes per side depending on thickness
• Flip once to get those char marks
• Serve the steaks with a hearty handful of coleslaw and a dollop of minty yoghurt

 

Tandoori lamb and spicy slaw

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger
• 1 tbsp Tandoori masala spice mix
• 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
• 0.5 tsp ground cumin
• 150g fat-free yoghurt
• 1 lemon
• 4 lamb leg steaks (about 100g each)
• Fresh mint

Spicy coleslaw

• 0.5 red cabbage
• 1 red pepper
• 2 carrots
• 2 spring onions
• 2 red chillies
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt and pepper