This sublime dish – great as a starter or to serve with drinks – is a joy to behold and I guarantee that once you start eating these chops you will not want to stop!
The idea for this recipe was given to me by my dear friend Dipa: I was honoured to have cooked alongside Dipa throughout Britain’s Best Home Cook, and was so often enticed by the wonderful aromas wafting from her kitchen!
Dipa made these chops using mutton for me and my partner recently when we went to visit her: my word, they were wolfed down easily!
I was delighted when Dipa passed on the list of ingredients so I had much fun trying to recreate these by playing around with the proportions of the spices. While I cannot possibly cook these to Dipa’s standard, I think these are a nice homage.
Lamb cuts
Lamn or mutton chops really come alive cooked this way, but I have also made these with the lamb shoulder fillets, cooking them for the same time in the pressure cooker and then slicing into thick discs.
Watch the spices!
For the spices, just check the dates, as the flavour will diminish significantly if the spices are close to their “best before” date.
After pressure cooking the chops, you are left with a fabulous spiced liquid in the pan. It is so good, so don’t throw it away – instead, reduce it to a thick sauce and coat the lamb in it before dipping in the egg and frying..
I like to serve these with natural yoghurt mixed with lime juice, a touch of salt and a little chopped chilli.
Recipe: spiced lamb egg chops – serves 5 as a starter
Marinade (which becomes a key part of the sauce):
- 4” piece of fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 large bulb of garlic, peeled
- 2-3 green chillies, including seeds – depending on how hot you like it
- 4 teaspoons cumin powder
- 4 teaspoons coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
- 4 teaspoons garam masala
- 150g natural yoghurt
- leaves from a few sprigs of mint
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Egg mixture:
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- a little fresh coriander and mint, chopped
To finish:
-
- 15 lamb chops
- a few tablespoons of vegetable oil for frying
- small bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
- 2-3 limes, cut in wedges for squeezing
(1) Put the ingredients for the marinade into a food processor and blitz to form a paste, adding a splash of water if needed to help it on its way.
(2) Rub the mixture onto both sides of the lamb chops and place in a large bowl. Cover with cling film and pop in the fridge for a couple hours – or ideally overnight – to marinade.
(3) Put the marinaded lamb in a pressure cooker along with about 200ml water. Cook on HIGH pressure for 10 minutes, cooking for 20 minutes if using mutton chops.
(4) Remove the lamb from the pressure cooker pan and set aside. Meanwhile bring the liquid in the pan to a simmer without the lid on, and let it reduce until it becomes a thick sauce. Coat the chops in it.
(5) Beat the ingredients for the egg mixture together with a fork to loosen up the eggs and dip the chops into it, turning the chops around to get them fully coated.
(6) Heat a large frying pan with oil and fry the chops in batches for about 3-4 minutes on each side until crispy. You also spoon some of the egg over the top of the chops while they cook before turning over, letting it cascade down the sides.
(7) Serve on a large plate and garnish with fresh coriander. Squeeze over lime juice when serving.
Phil's Home Kitchen 