Recipes: Lamb kebabs, Lamb’s Liver Masala

I usually serve this with a fresh, minted yogurt dip. Just combine a pot of bio yoghurt, a large handful of chopped fresh mint, lemon juice, salt and chilli flakes. Adding a cucumber and coriander salad dressed with olive oil and sea salt only, keeps the flavours fresh. And when it comes to barbecue season again, try this cooked over charcoal, as it makes the kebab deliciously smoky.

Ingredients

500g Scotch Lamb shoulder mince

1 large Spanish onion

6 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon of coriander seeds

1 tablespoon of cumin seeds

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 large handful of fresh parsley

1 small handful fresh tarragon

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Grind the cumin and coriander roughly in a mortar and pestle with a teaspoon of salt. Put the spices, herbs, onions and garlic in a food processor and whiz until everything is blended. Add the meat and whiz again until everything is well-mixed to a reasonably rough texture. Form handfuls of the meat mixture around bamboo skewers. Make sure you soak the skewers in water for an hour first so they so not burn. Grill on a hot charcoal barbecue or under the kitchen grill for about seven minutes, turning regularly. Serve immediately with the fresh mint dip.

Lamb’s Liver Masala

Ingredients

1 lb lamb’s liver

4 tbsp oil

1 onion chopped

5 cm cinnamon, broken into pieces

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

Salt to taste

90 ml warm water

4 flakes garlic, crushed

1 small tin of tomatoes

100g frozen green peas

3 green chillies

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

Make the following ingredients to a paste with 2 tsp of water:

2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp chilli powder

Method

Clean the liver, remove all the skin and cut roughly into 1.5cm pieces. Heat two tablespoons of oil over a medium heat and fry the onions and cinnamon until the onions are soft. Add the potatoes, salt and stir-fry the potatoes for about two minutes, add some water cover the pan and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat in a heavy bottomed wide pan.

A non-stick or cast iron pan is ideal, as the liver needs to be stir fried over high heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds, add the spice paste, lower the heat and stir-fry for about two minutes.

Add half of the tomatoes, along with some of the juice, stir and cook for further 2-3 minutes, breaking the tomatoes with the spoon. When the mixture is fairly dry, add the liver and adjust heat to medium high. Stir-fry the liver for 3-4 minutes.

Add the remaining tomatoes and the juice, stir-fry for 5-6 minutes. Cover the pan and simmer for about 8 minutes, add the potatoes, green peas, green chillies and the remaining salt and cook for a minute or two. Adjust heat to medium and cook, uncovered for further 5 minutes. Stir in the garam masala and remove from heat. Serve with plain fried rice or rotis.

* Tony Singh is the headchef/owner of Oloroso, 33 Castle Street, 0131- 226 7614 This autumn he is championing Scotch Lamb as part of the Quality Meat Scotland campaign. For information on how to cook with Scotch Lamb download Quality Meat Scotland’s free ‘Perfect Steaks and Roasts’ app or visit www.scotchbeefandlamb.com