Tandoori Fillet of Lamb

Tandoori Fillet of lamb served

Lamb cooked on the barbecue is always something but this marinade creates an even more tasty dish than usual. I like to accompany tandoori lamb with pilau rice (hot or cold) which is easily prepared in advance, irate (cucumber and yoghurt sauce) and barbecued wedges of tandoori bread. In this recipe I use best end of lamb fillet but neck fillet or a couple of racks of lamb will also work well (leg of lamb will also work but it will take 1-1 1/2 hours of slow cooking on the barbecue with the lid over or in an oven).

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Prep: 10 Minutes (with a minimum 2 Hours refriguration.)
Cook: 1 - 1 1/2 Hours

Ingredients

Lamb

  • 3 best end lamb fillets (weighing 400-600g each), trimmed of fat and sinew

Marinade

  • 500ml natural yoghurt
  • 1 large red chilli finely chopped
  • 1 large green chilli, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 5 cm ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 3 tablespoon coriander finely chopped
  • 3 teaspoon honey
  • 1 tsp maldon salt

Cucumber Raita

  • 1 cucumber, washed and grated
  • 250ml yoghurt
  • 3 tablespoon chopped mint
  • 1 pinch of chilli powder
  • Juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • Salt

Tandoori Bread

  • 2 large tandoori breads (shop bought) sliced into 12-16 wedges
  • 3 tbsp olive or chilli oil

To Serve

  • Pilau Rice, optional (see recipe)

Method

  1. Tandoori marinade: Place all the ingredients in a bowl large enough to hold the lamb, and mix it together well. Place the lamb fillets in the marinade and coat it well. Cover the bowl and place the lamb in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 2 hours.
  2. Cucumber Raita:Grate the unpeeled cucumber on the coarsely and drain on absorbent paper. Mix with the remaining ingredients and season. Place the raita in a bowl and refrigerate it until ready to use.
  3. To Cook: Preheat a grill to its highest temperature, or prepare a BBQ so that is very moderately hot.
  4. Place the lamb on the BBQ and cook it for 7-8 minutes and turn over and cook on the other side for a further 7-8 minutes. The cousin is cooked when pierced with a fork its juices run clear or Grill for around 15 minutes turning halfway though the cooking time. If you like your lamb well cooked just increase the cooking time accordingly. Remove the lamb from the barbecue and keep it warm until ready to serve.
  5. Tandoori Bread: Toss the tandoori wedges in the oil and cook them on the barbecue for a minute on each side while the lamb is cooking or cook them under a grill. Keep them warm until ready to serve.
  6. To Serve: Place the pilau rice on one side of each plate (hot or cold). Place the lamb on a chopping board and slice them into even pieces. Distribute the lamb evenly among the plates, with slices overlapping each other slightly. Place a spoonful of the raita on each plate, a couple of wedges of the tandoori bread and some pilau rice (optional). Serve the lamb accompanied with mango chutney.