Friday, 11 September 2009

Indian-Style Lamb Burgers with Spicy Cucumber Raita


Things have been pretty busy around here lately, with the upcoming move and such. We're just back from another wonderful trip to Paris.

There's a restaurant in Wickham that I have raved about in the past called Vatika. It's owned by Atul Kochhar, who I have mentioned in this blog numerous times in association with several successful Indian dishes.

Well, a few weeks ago, I begged my way back into the kitchen to put some work in during a lunch service. I had a great time there and, among other things, had the task of making about 300 or so mini-lamb burgers. I ran home and wrote the recipe down before I forgot anything.

This is just lovely smoky heat which is cooled down nicely by the raita. This is a great way to have burgers and perhaps get your feet wet with Indian flavors, if you're not that familiar.

BURGERS
1" piece ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
500 g lamb, ground
4 hamburger buns, toasted, if desired

RAITA
100 g greek yogurt
1 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons cucumber, finely diced
½ jalapeno, finely diced
1 pinch salt

BURGERS

Combine the ginger, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder and salt together in a small blender or food processor and whiz into a rough paste with a bit of the lamb. Next, take the paste and work into the rest of the lamb by hand until evenly worked through.

Take a small bit of the burger mixture and cook it off in a hot pan. Taste for seasoning and adjust the mixture as needed, working seasonings in well. When the seasoning is right (good balance of smoke, cumin and chili powder heat - and enough salt to make the flavors jump out), shape the meat into patties.

Sear the burgers off in a hot pan for 4-5 minutes on each side, until done.

RAITA

Combine all of the raita ingredients together and stir well. Taste and adjust as necessary.

ASSEMBLY

Toast the buns off and top with a burger. Put some raita on top and some cucumber slices, if desired. Serve hot.

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