For those of you who have never tried a tandoori lamb chop, well… Your tastes may be different than mine, but for me, there is nothing quite like a juicy lamb chop prepared in the traditional tandoori style. In fact, if I could only eat one lamb dish for the rest of my life, it would be a tandoori lamb chop.
Internet forums are filled with people who list their favorite fast food for lamb chops. The most popular choices include: KFC, Subway, Taco Bell and Jack in the Box. With the popularity of Indian cuisine in the US, it’s no surprise to see such a large number of tandoori lamb chops recipes available on the internet. However, tandoori lamb chops don’t necessarily have to be a part of an Indian meal, as they are also quite popular across the world.
Tandoori lamb chops – a truly delectable dish enjoyed by millions that I get to enjoy every day. That is until I started making them myself and found that it is not as easy as I thought. I have since learnt the basic steps that I do to get it right. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Tandoori lamb chops are a popular appetizer that can be found in almost all Indian restaurants and takeout. It is popular not just in India, but also in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other nations. A classic tandoor, which can be found in virtually all Indian restaurants, is required to prepare tandoori lamb chops. We don’t usually have a tandoor at home, but we may achieve the same restaurant-style (red and burnt color) on lamb chops by just cooking them in the oven according to the directions in this recipe.
The flavor of tandoori lamb chops is greatly enhanced by marinating them. Tandoori lamb chops should be marinated for 8 hours to overnight with spices, yoghurt, and lime juice. To obtain the finest, luscious, and juicy tandoori chops, I marinated them for a couple of nights.
Tandoori lamb chops with salad and mint sauce may be served as an appetizer. It may also be served as a side dish with raitha and any pulao or fried rice (mixture of onion, tomato, green chillies and yoghurt).
Time to prepare: 30 minutes (excluding time for marination)
Time to cook: 40 minutes
North Indian cuisine
Medium spiciness
Serves: 3
Ingredients
Method
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- Bell peppers of any color, onion, and green chilies should all be sliced for garnishing. Make sure they’re prepared. This is completely optional and up to you.
- Dry roast cumin seeds for a few minutes over a low heat in a nonstick pan or on a tava until the color changes and the fragrance emerges. Allow to cool completely before grinding into a powder.
- The tandoori lamb chops are prepared in two steps:
1. Preparation
2. Baking
The initial marination
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- In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients listed in the first marinade section. Apply to the lamb chops all over. Rub the steak well to ensure that the marinade penetrates deep into the flesh. 1 hour in the refrigerator
a second round of marination
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- In a large mixing bowl, combine the curd/yoghurt and the ingredients for the second marinade. Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Make sure the seasoning is correct.
- Combine the lamb chops with the second marinade in a large mixing bowl.
- Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. It is preferable to stay overnight.
- Remove it from the fridge 30 to 40 minutes before you begin cooking to allow it to get to room temperature. (Again, don’t massage or mix the marinated pork chops.) The marinated chops have left some liquid, as you can see.
Baking
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- Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 10 to 15 minutes and keep it ready. Because my oven is a gas oven, modify the times accordingly.
- After spraying the rack (broiler or oven rack) with oil, place it on top of the roasting pan. Place the marinated pork chops on a rack or on skewers. A few drops of oil should be drizzled over the chops.
- Cook for 8 to 10 minutes on each side with the baking pan in the center of the oven. Check periodically to ensure that it does not get burned or dry. Cook for approximately 8 minutes, or until the lamb chops are just done, turning the skewers and brushing with oil.
- Take the lamb chops out of the oven and set aside. Set aside and switch from oven to grill to get the burnt color of a restaurant.
- To achieve the burnt color on the lamb chops, brush them with melted butter and put the baking sheet (with the rack on which the skewers are set) under the grill. Keep an eye on the lamb chops to prevent them from becoming too scorched or burned. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes each side on each side.
- After flipping the lamb chops to the other side, baste with butter again and cook until the chops have a restaurant-like scorched color.
- Remove the skewers from the lamb chops and set them aside.
- Brush a little butter on an aluminum foil sheet, put the hot lamb chops on top of the foil, and wrap or seal the foil for approximately 10 minutes to make the chops juicy and tasty.
- Serve with any pulao and raitha as a starter or side dish.
Garnishing is optional.
- Meanwhile, combine all of the veggies for garnishing on the same baking sheet where the lamb chops’ juices (fat) have drained. On the veggies, sprinkle a pinch of garam masala, salt, and chaat masala. Grill for a few minutes at a high temperature in the oven, or until gently charred.
- Sprinkle some lemon juice over the veggies to taste; mix everything together, then put the vegetables on a serving dish before adding the lamb chops from the foil.
- It works great with any pulao and raitha as a beginning.
Notes
- I sometimes cook the lamb chops ahead of time and cover them in foil. When ready to serve, just reheat it in the oven with foil cover (it will not dry out the chicken) or without (reapply butter to keep the chicken wet) until hot and serve.
- You may use saffron (kesar) instead of color, or you can purchase beetroot veggie powder and use it instead.
- In a blender, I combined 10 mace blossoms, one tiny nutmeg, and 10 to 15 green cardamoms to make mace and nutmeg powder (jaiphal and javithri). Keep the container airtight.
- You may use a pinch of green cardamom powder for the mace and nutmeg.
- Depending on how hot your chillies are, add chilli powder and green chili.
- Add kasuri methi to the marinade by rubbing it between your hands.
- For the marinade, use thick curd or hanging curd.
Tandoori is a traditional Indian cooking technique using a tandoor oven. It uses a domed clay oven, built of bricks, heated with charcoal, that uses indirect heat. Normally, meat is cooked by braising (slow cooking) or roasting in an oven, but tandoori uses the tandoor oven for a unique flavor.. Read more about tandoori lamb chops barbecue and let us know what you think.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my lamb chops tough?
The lamb chops are tough because you overcooked them.
Should Lamb Chops be cooked fast or slow?
The best way to cook lamb chops is to cook them at a high temperature for about 10 minutes on each side.
How does Gordon Ramsay cook lamb chops?
Gordon Ramsay cooks lamb chops by searing them on the grill and then finishing them in a pan with olive oil, thyme, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper.