Garam MASALA: THE KEY SPICE BLEND

The quantities below will make 4 burgers

You will need:

• 500g mince lamb (must be at least 20% fat – same rule applies if you use a different type of red meat)
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ginger, finely minced
• 1 heaped teaspoon English mustard
• 1 teaspoon Pure Punjabi Garam Masala*
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 60g room temperature butter, mashed with 2 teaspoons Pure Punjabi Garam Masala*
• 4 brioche buns
• Optional: 2 green birds eye chillis (if you want – we made ours without)

*The quality of the garam masala you use will have a big impact on the end result. Just like coffee, and tea, the variation in quality of what is available on the market is huge.

Optional extras: Raita and garnish items

• 125ml Greek yoghurt
• 5cm section of cucumber, grated & squeezed to remove excess liquid
• 2 springs mint, finely chopped (you’ll need the leaves only)
• A pinch of turmeric
• Pomegranate seeds
• Cherry tomatoes (orange, yellow and red)
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced

1. In a bowl, put the lamb, the finely diced red onion, garlic, ginger, mustard, 1 teaspoon of garam masala, pomegranate molasses and salt. Mix these ingredients together – depending on what texture you want will depend on how you mix these ingredients together (see notes below).
2. Once mixed, divide the meat into 4 even patties, cover with cling film and put it into the fridge
3. In a separate bowl, mash together butter and 2 teaspoons of garam masala. Lay the spiced butter onto a cling film, and as you close the cling film and wrap it around the butter, shape it into a long sausage shape and put it in the freezer for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, take the butter out of the freezer and cut it into 4 discs. Slide one disc into the centre of each patty, making sure that the butter is completely encased in the meat. They are now ready to cook.
5. Cook the burgers under a hot grill or on a barbecue*, turning them only once during the cooking (so that each side of the burger faces the heat one time). You will notice the butter melting through the burgers, leaving them moist and tender. Once the meat is cooked all the way through, the burgers are ready.
6. Optional extras: I like to serve these burgers with a raita sauce (made by combining the cucumber and yogurt) and topping it with a pinch of turmeric and some pomegranate seeds.
7. Assemble by spreading the buns with the raita, then put the burger on, topped with the tomatoes and onions.

* It is important that you cook the burgers over a grill (weather a domestic grill or barbecue). Do not cook them in a frying pan or in the oven, as the butter needs to drip through the meat and out of the burger to make them juicy and tender. If you let the burgers sit in the burger, they will turn to becoming greasy.

Notes on how to mix the meat

For a light texture

If you want the burgers to have a light texture, handle and mix the ingredient with a very light hand. Don’t squeeze the meat in the palm of the hand. Instead break up the lamb mince with your fingers and do the same when incorporating the other ingredients together. Carefully separate into 4 even portions and press gently together into patties, cover with cling film and put it into the fridge.

For a firm texture

If you like a firm bite of meat, then this will be your preferred method… handle the meat heavily, squeezing the lamb mince and other ingredients in through the palms of the hand. Then, knead the spiced lamb mince for 2 minutes, separate into 4 even patties, cover with cling film and put it into the fridge.

• 1 tsp of oil (sunflower or vegetable)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• ¼ cup of vegetable stock
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 tsp Pure Punjabi Garam Masala
• 1 can of chickpeas
• A small bunch of coriander leaves, chopped
• Salt, to taste
• Slices of toasted bread (either baguette or ciabatta)

Optional extras: garnish items

• Additional cherry tomatoes, cut into small pieces (a mix of orange, yellow and red tomatoes have great visual impact)
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced

Note: when making the chickpea purée, the key is to cook over a steady low heat. If the heat is too high, you will burn the garlic and spoil the flavours of the spices.

Turn the oven on to 180 degrees celsius to allow it to pre-heat (this is to toast the ciabatta later in step 4).

1. Start by making the chickpea purée. Heat a saucepan over a medium to low flame and add the sunflower oil and garlic to the pan (making sure that the garlic does not stick and burn).
   Let the garlic gently sizzle for a minute or so, until the harsh raw smell of the garlic disappears, and the smell becomes sweet.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes and the Pure Punjabi Garam Masala, stir and allow to cook over a gentle heat for 1 – 2 minutes.
3. Add the chickpeas and vegetable stock and stir the ingredients to make sure everything has mixed together properly. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and put the lid on to allow the chickpeas to cook on a low simmer* for 5 minutes.

* It is important that you do not let the mixture come to a boil as this will spoil the flavour of the spices, a simmer is perfect

4. Take the pan off the heat and leave the chickpeas to one side to slightly cool. Now you need to toast the ciabatta. Lay the bread out on an oven tray and put in the oven to toast whilst you blend the chickpeas…
5. Put the entire chickpea mixture (make sure to scrape every bit of flavour into the food processor) and add salt (start with half a teaspoon). Pulse the chickpeas – you can either blitz till smooth or lightly pulse the mixture so that it’s a bit chunkier (depending on your personal preference). Taste test for salt levels, and if no more salt is needed, the mixture is ready.
6. Spread the chickpea mixture generously over the toasted bread and garnish with chopped coriander and a few small pieces of freshy chopped tomato. It is best served straight away, whilst the toast is crisp and chickpea mixture is warm!

Notes on how to cut the bread

As a main course

This dish makes for a delicious lunch or dinner, simply cut the loaf of ciabatta in half, in the same way you would do were you making a sandwich, and then toast the bread in the oven.

For canapés or as a starter

Should you wish to serve this dish as a ‘light bite’ cut the ciabatta bread into slices) as seen in the photo.

The quantities below make enough for 2 people.

You will need:

• 5 tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 small onion, cut into quarters
• ¼ garlic bulb,
• 200ml coconut milk
• 250ml bouillon (or vegetable stock)
• 125ml water
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground pepper
• ¾ tsp Pure Punjabi Garam Masala
• Garnish (optional): coriander leaves, finely chopped red onion, naan bread croutons

1. Heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Put the halved tomatoes onto a tray, cut side up, and put them into the oven to cook for 1 hour,

Note: To save turning the oven on just for this dish, make it when you are cooking another dish in the oven at the same time. (i.e. Baking a cake)

2. Half an hour into the cooking time, cut the tops off the garlic to expose the tops of each clove and add the ¼ bulb to the tray.
3. 10 minutes later (so 40 minutes into the cooking time), add the onion to the tray.
4. After an hour, take the tray out of the oven. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins, and add them, the tomatoes and onion to a saucepan.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients to the saucepan, and bring the mixture to the boil.
6. Once it has boiled, simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Liquidise the mixture and pass it through a sieve to remove the tomato seeds and skin.
8. You can serve this soup hot or chilled. I like to serve it hot in the winter months, and chilled in the summer.
9. Garnish with coriander, finely chopped red onion and some naan bread croutons. If you are going to be enjoying this soup with a special someone, you can cut the naan bread with a heart shaped cookies cutter (as I have).

• Ingredients:
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 inch piece of ginger
• 3 red birds eye chillis
• 2 sticks of lemongrass
• 1 small bunch of coriander, washed
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 – 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 large tsp Pure Punjabi Garam Masala
• 1 tsp cumin seeds1 onion, cut into slices
• 1 pumpkin, cut into 1 inch chunks (bite size pieces)
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 4 chicken breasts, cut into pieces
• 200g basmati rice, washed
• 1 tin of coconut milk (400ml)
• Juice of 3 limes
• Freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)

1. Put the garlic, ginger, chillis, lemongrass, coriander, salt, sunflower oil, garam masala and cumin seeds into a food processor and blitz until you have a paste.
2. Heat a pan on medium heat and cook the paste in the pan for 5 minutes, you can add a little boiling water to loosen the mixture if it starts to stick to the base of the pan.
3. Add the pumpkin pieces, and coat with the spices. Add the chicken stock and chicken pieces, and bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the squash is soft.
4. Add the washed rice to the pan and simmer for 8 – 10 minutes until the rice is cooked.
5. Once the rice is cooked, add the coconut milk, and simmer for a further couple of minutes.
6. Just before turning the heat off, add the lime juice and freshly cracked black pepper and stir through. The dish is ready to serve!

• 1/4 of a jar of Pure Punjabi Garam Masala
• 5 or 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 lamb shoulder (approximately weighing 2kg)
• 500g strong flour
• 225g salt
• 1 bunch of rosemary (strip the rosemary off the stalks – discard the stalks)
• 10g cumin seeds
• 10g coriander seeds
• 9 egg whites
• 50ml water (optional)

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees.
2. Put the shoulder into a roasting tray lined with baking parchment and cut 5 or 6 incisions into it. Push a clove of garlic into each slit, try to space these incisions as evenly as you can across the meat. Then, rub all of the garam masala over the shoulder.
3. Now we’ll make the salt dough. Mix the flour, salt, rosemary, cumin seeds and coriander seeds together roughly in a bowl. Then add the egg whites, the mixture will be a bit gloopy, but this is what you want.
4. Spread the salt dough over the top of the shoulder so that it completely encases the meat. If the dough is just too thick to spread it, then you can add a little water, till it reaches the stage where you can work with it. Make sure the entire shoulder is covered in the dough, as you don’t want any steam to be able to come through whilst it’s cooking.
5. Put the dough-covered lamb into the oven, and cook at 220 degrees for 20 minutes. The high temperature allows the pastry to set and form a hard crust. Don’t be tempted to put the lamb into the oven before it’s reached the correct temperature.
6. After cooking at 220 degrees for 20 minutes, turn the oven down to 120 degrees and cook for four and a half hours.
7. Once it’s cooked, let the lamb rest, out of the oven (but still with it’s salt pastry on) for at least 30 minutes.
8. Crack open the salt pastry (which you discard), you’ll be greeted by juicy, pull-apart lamb!

You can serve this in a warm bun with pickle and homemade coleslaw or in a buttered naan bread…delicious!