Spicy Lamb Burgers

Sometimes I shop with specific dishes in mind. At other times an ingredient or two will catch my eye, then the day's dinner is shaped by a flash of inspiration. Today was a bit of both. I had bought some lamb mince and a couple of aubergines, intending to make a moussaka, a favourite here.

And then I thought, nah, don't fancy it. So what to do with the lamb? A wee bit of research yielded something close to today's offering, and rather good it was too. The recipe called for four chillies. I took fright a little and used three, but the heat was perfectly fine. As ever, adapt to your taste, seeds in or out. The recipe also called for fresh coriander, but I didn't have any.

What's in a name? Kofta, kebab, meatball. Take your pick. If you plan to ease the meat on to a skewer to cook on the barbie, my top tip is to use either a broad, sword like one, or two skewers side by side. Use a single thin one and you may find your kofta spinning round, making turning difficult. (OK, so that happened to me once. You are probably more dexterous.) Finally, the recipe called for a teaspoon of salt. Who on earth measures their salt in a savoury dish? While I was taught that a pinch was literally the amount you can hold between thumb and forefinger, that's b******s. If you watch any professional cookery show, you'll know what I mean. If not, here's a link to an Instagram page.

Ingredients (makes 4 burgers)

500g lamb mince (I would use the 20% fat stuff); juice of 1 lemon; 4 cloves garlic, crushed; 3 green chillies, finely chopped (see above); ½ tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp ground cumin; ½ tsp turmeric; 1 tsp garam masala; thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated; 2 good pinches of salt; good grind of black pepper - about 8 twists; 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for frying.

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You are going to make a paste, but the quantities are small. Using a mortar and pestle is the traditional way, but I find it tedious. If you have a mini processor, that works. My stick blender came with a cylindrical jug into which it fits perfectly. That's what I used. But it's now your recipe, so it's your issue.

Mix 2 tsp of the lemon juice and the lamb together. Make a paste (see above) with all the spices, remaining lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir the paste into the mince. Using your hands is best. Top tip: wet your hands before shaping your burgers.

Form the burgers. Cover and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes. To cook, various ways. L did hers in the airfryer. I like a little colour on mine. I browned them on each side in a frying pan, then popped into an oven at about 180˚C/Mark 4 for about 6 or 7 minutes. Always check the temperature. Anything over 70˚C and you're safe (though you may have overcooked).

This is good served with tomato sauce and either rice, flat breads or tatties. Or with salad; or yoghurt; or chips. Or in a bun. Like I care.

A bonus recipe for you which, I think, I got from a Madhur Jaffrey book decades ago. You can literally make your sauce while your burgers are cooking.

The World's Fastest and Easiest Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

1 tin chopped tomatoes; 1 tsp sugar; ½ tsp salt

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Put the ingredients in a heavy pan. Allow to bubble over a medium high heat until the mixture reduces to your preferred consistency, stirring from time to time to prevent burning. Voilà!