Credit: Stephen Jackson.
(Serves 4)
INGREDIENTS:
For the koftas:
500g quality minced lamb, from the butcher
½ medium onion, very finely diced
2 tsp tikka masala powder
4 cloves garlic, minced
A thumb-sized piece of ginger, minced
2 tablespoons Yorkshire Emporium Lime-Mango chutney
Some metal or (pre-soaked) wooden skewers
Sea salt & freshly-ground black pepper
For the cucumber-mint mascarpone:
2 tubs Burnt Hill mascarpone cheese
Half a large cucumber
2 tbsps ready-made mint sauce, from the jar
A splash of fresh lemon juice
A pinch of hot chilli powder
A pinch of unrefined caster sugar
Sea salt & freshly-ground black pepper
For the flatbreads:
400g plain flour
½ tsp
200ml warm water
4 tbsps oil Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil, plus a little extra for cooking
To serve:
Extra lime/mango chutney
A few fresh tomatoes
Some crisp salad leaves
METHOD:
First, the flatbreads. Place the flour and salt in a large bowl and add the water incrementally.
Add the oil and gently knead together until a soft dough forms. If it is too sticky, add a little more flour or if it is too dry, add a splash more water.
Knead the dough on a flat, lightly-floured surface for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
You can cook the flatbreads straight away or leave the dough to stand for about 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 6 or 8 pieces (the size depends on your personal taste, but make sure they can fit into the frying pan!) Roll each ball of dough out, one at a time, using a rolling pin. Keep turning the flatbread. A prefect disc isn’t required here, just a nice flat bread about 1-2cm thick (again, that’s a preference thing.) To cook, heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Drizzle a little oil onto the surface of the pan. Cook each flatbread for about 2 minutes on each side – they should puff up a little. Personally, we like them quite well scorched for increased flavour, but it’s up to you. Keep the cooked flatbreads warm, wrapped loosely in a clean tea towel, until the others are cooked. You can also freeze any extras at this point. To reheat, simply that, sprinkle with water, wrap in foil and warm in a medium oven for 20 minutes.
Now for the koftas. In a large bowl, mix the lamb mince with the onion, tikka powder, chutney, garlic and ginger. Season a little if required, and roll into about 10 long sausage - shaped pieces around the skewers. It’s easy to press out the meat into a rectangle, and then roll it around each skewer. Cover and chill the koftas until required. Cook the koftas over medium barbecue heat, or in a 180°C oven for 2-3 mins – being careful as they are quite fragile. Keep warm.
For the sauce, grate the cucumber roughly, and place in a sieve over a bowl, with a little sea salt. This will help the liquid to escape. Leave for about 30 minutes, then squeeze dry in a clean tea towel. Add to the mascarpone with the mint sauce, lemon, chilli powder and sugar, and taste. Adjust the seasoning accordingly – it likes a good grind of pepper – and chill until required.
To serve, tear manageable pieces of flatbread, pop in a kofta, and spoon the cool sauce over the top. Dab a little lime chutney over the whole thing and devour immediately. We’d recommend an ice-cold beer with this dish. The perfect accompaniment.
