Ingredients

8 quality lamb cutlets

3 tablespoons cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground

1 thumb-sized piece ginger, grated

3 tablespoons olive oil

150 g blanched almonds

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon cloves

½ stick cinnamon

½ teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon butter

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 red onion, finely sliced

200 g tinned chopped tomatoes

250 ml fat-free natural yoghurt

Preparation

Lay the chops out, and massage in the ground cumin and the grated ginger and about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Then leave to marinate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight. 

Toast the almonds under a hot grill or in an oven until light brown. When cool, place in a plastic bag, squeeze all the air out of it, knot the end and smash with a rolling pin until the nuts are crushed. Keep to one side. 

Heat a saucepan and toast the pepper, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom until a shade darker in colour. Remove and grind in a pestle and mortar. 

Melt the butter in the hot pan and when sizzling, add the garlic, turmeric and onion. Cook for a few minutes until soft, then add the tomatoes and ground spices. Stew the tomatoes down before adding the yoghurt. Bring to the boil, stirring, and turn the heat down so that the yoghurt simmers gently. It will probably curdle a little, but don’t worry, a blast from a hand blender will sort that out. Cook gently for about 20 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Season carefully with salt and turn the heat off. 

When you’re ready to serve, preheat a ridged griddle pan on a back ring of your cooker. Season the lamb with salt and pepper, griddle for 1½ minutes each side or until cooked to medium. Quickly blend the sauce if it has curdled and serve with almonds, the shoot salad and some fluffy rice.
 

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