Keerai Masala Vadai - Keerai Paruppu Vadai - Split pea Fritters

Paruppu Vadai or Masala Vadai like it is called in tea shops all over TamilNadu is one of those perfect teat time snacks. It is easy to make and can be easily be adapted to use a variety of vegetables and spices.

Spring time is perfect for adding home grown greens into the mix while making paruppu vadai especially if you have some growing in your yard or if you have access to a Farmer's market. Nothing can compare to eating the crunchy just off the oil vadais but they also make for good sandwich filling in the mode of a falafel provided you have left overs. Grated Zucchini, Carrots or cabbage all can be used with excellent results.

When the weather gets warm we switch to the outdoors for deep frying. Makes for family participation where each one can be tasked with doing something.

Any greens of choice can be used. I had some lush 1milagu thakkali keerai/manathakkali keerai/black nightshade and decided to use that.

Keerai Masala Vadai - Keerai Paruppu Vadai - Split Pea Fritters Preparation Time:15 minutes + 2 hours soaking time
Cooking Time:45 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2 cups of split peas (I used green split peas, bengal gram/chana dal/kadala paruppu can be used) soaked for 2 hours
2. 6 red chilies
3. 1 tsp fennel seeds (sombu)
4. 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
5. 1/2 cup (or more) of finely chopped onions or shallots
6. 2 packed cups of finely chopped greens (I used manathakkali keerai/milagu thakkali keerai)
7. 2-3 tbsp of grated ginger
8. 6-8 green chilies chopped fine
9. handful of chopped coriander leaves
10. a sprig of curry leaves chopped fine
11. salt to taste - 1/2 tsp
12. oil for deep frying

Method

1. Take the red chilies, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and run the blender a couple of times and let it powder a bit. Set aside a handful of soaked peas and add the rest to the blender and let it blend to a coarse or a smooth mixture. Add as little water as possible. About 1/2 tbsp or enough to get the blade spinning.
2. In a frying pan set the oil to heat.
   
3. 
   
4. Add the chopped onions,chilies, greens, coriander and curry leaves,salt and mix it into the blended peas.


5. Take a small lemon size ball and pat it in the palm of the hand to flatten it a bit like you would a pattie.


6. Test if the oil is hot by adding a small piece of the mixture. If the oil bubbles then it is hot enough for frying.


7. Drop the flattened pattie in the oil. Depending on the size of the pan 3-4 patties can be fried at the same time. Let it brown on both sides. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.

They taste great by themselves or with a side of tomato ketchup or hot sauce.
Note:
Make sure to use as little oil as possible to avoid the vadai from absorbing too much oil. Mix the other ingredients (like the greens and onions) as close to cooking time as possible as they will add moisture to the pea mixture.

Variations
1. Spinach and Mint Paruppu Vadai 2. Masala Vadai from dried and powdered split peas (with cloves and cinnamon)

Kadala Paruppu Keerai Kootu - Bengal Gram and Chard leaves in a coconut masala

I have sung praises of growing Chard and this spring was no different. I planted some towards the end of March and a week ago I was able to get enough to make dinner. They are hardy and not that susceptible to cold so a late May frost did not hurt them much. I grow mine in containers. Leafy greens do not need full sun, so if all you have is partial sun it is quite enough to get them going.

While a stir fry and sambhar would have been just as good I wanted to try something different. I was talking to my mom and she suggested a kootu - a typical dal/lentil based dish with a masala made with coconut, cumin and green chilies.

Though a kootu can be typically made with any of the lentils/dal I talked about. I wanted to try using channa dal/kadalai paruppu to make this kootu. Chard is one of those green that you really can't go wrong and the combination turned out to be irresistible.

Health Fact:
Chana Dal or Bengal Gram dal has a very low glycemic index and it is good for those suffering from diabetes or anybody who likes to keep their blood sugar low.

Ingredients Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time:25 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 cups of kadalai paruppu (bengal gram/channa dal)
2. 3 cups of packed Swiss Chard leaves (substitute with any green of choice)
3. 3 tbsp of chopped shallots or onions
4. seasonings - mustard seeds, cumin seeds a few, curry leaves, asfoetida a pinch
5. salt to taste
6. 2 tsp of oil or ghee
7. a handful of chopped coriander leaves
8. 1/4 tsp of roasted and powdered methi seeds
Masala Paste
9. 3 tbsp of grated fresh or frozen coconut
10. 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
11. 6-8 green chilies
Blend the above to a fairly smooth paste, add a 1/2 tbsp of water.

Method

1. Cook the bengal gram with 2 1/2 cups of water till it is just cooked, the lentils should maintain their shape. If using a pressure cooker cook on high for 1 whistle.
2. In a kadai or wide mouthed pan heat oil and when hot add the seasonings, first the asfoetida, cumin seeds and then the mustard seeds, when it starts to pop add the curry leaves followed by the onions and saute till the onions are translucent.
3. Now add the greens and saute for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the cooked dal along with any water and let it come to a boil.
5. Lower the heat and add the blended masala paste and if required half a cup of water (if it is too thick) and salt. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes after it starts bubbling. Sprinkle the methi seeds powder and turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
Serve with rice or chapathis. Taste great with both.

March Against Monsanto - Washington D.C.

Monsanto as a company frankly scares me and it should you too. With endless donations to legislators they are at a liberty to push even poison on to the plates of people all with the enthusiastic support of the law makers who are like dogs waiting for bones to be thrown by Monsanto. The biggest bone getter of them all is the current occupant of the White House. He who convincingly pretended and won the election to me looks very much like a shadow agent of the giant biotech company.

Lyme Mayday rally

Anybody who thinks and writes about food needs to be aware of GMOs and the havoc that companies like Monsanto wreak on the environment and its people. The poorest people and indigenous farmers whose livelihood is dependent on the land are the ones who suffer the most. With an army of lawyers, the President of the USA, lobbyists, Congress and Senate all in their payroll no wonder they are arrogant and think they can get away with murder literally.

While the other Obama who talks about healthy eating has the means to put non-GMO organic food on her family's table while the rest have to deal with stealthy food labeling, an FDA head who is an ex Monsanto employee (guess whose side he will be on), the secretary of USDA a Monsanto lobbyist. With a supreme court lawyer who represented Monsanto and another who was on the payroll of Monsanto their power over the different branches of government is absolute.

Don't miss How did Barack Obama become Monsanto’s man in Washington?.

May 25th the day of the March Against Monsanto is our chance as people who refuse to eat foods grown in laboratories rather than farms to show our protest against the giant company.

DC presented a bright, breezy picture perfect day for a protest. Started at Lafayette square in front of the White House and marched to K street to the lobbying building of Monsanto. Colorful and optimistic was how I'd portray the march.

DC for all the bad things it represents, is a very beautiful city with shady trees, giant squares and plazas - is also a symbol of freedom, openness and power all at the same time.

If you are from other parts of the world or other cities in the US and if you took part in the March share you experiences.

March to the Monsanto lobbying office.

Dals and Lentils - A primer ( பருப்பு வகைகள்)

In most homes in India dals/lentils are the main stay of any meal. The lentils are cooked in various delicious ways to suit several different tastes and palette. To learn to cook a simple dal recipe is to know half the trades of Indian cooking. The rest just comes. That is how my cooking journey started. As a side for rice or bread, sometimes as soup or as a meal by itself they are versatile and lend themselves to several tasty meals. With a knowledge of a few spices and the art of tempering you are in for a treat.

If you are familiar with Indian cooking you already know what I am talking about.

This post is aimed at those readers who are not as familiar with Indian cooking and the different lentils that are used but would like to incorporate more into their everyday meals. I have had co-workers, friends, moms of DDs and many more people ask me about cooking lentils but when I throw out names like toor, moong,channa, urad dal etc., their eyes glaze over and I feel guilty thinking I have perhaps put an end to their interest.

The lentils that I use most often in my cooking are:

1. Toor Dal - Pigeon Peas - Thuvaram paruppu - used for making plain dal, sambhar or chutney
2. Moong Dal - Green Gram - Paasi Paruppu - used for making plain dal, rice and dal rice, idli sambhar
3. Urad Dal - Black Gram - Ulundhu - used for seasoning and making idli
4. Channa Dal - Bengal Gram - Kadala Parupu - used in combination with a variety of vegetables
5. Masoor Dal - Red Lentil - Masur Paruppu - used the same way as toor dal (popular in the North India)

Toor Dal

Toor Dal - Pigeon Peas
Toor Dal is the one that I use most often to make just plain dal or sambhar. They are also used for making thick chutneys and also the main ingredient in Dal rice (arisi paruppu saatham).
Swiss Chard Sambhar
Hotel Style Sambhar
Paruppu Chutney
Dal Rice

Rasam - Mullagitawny soup

Split Green Moong Dal

Split Yellow Moong Dal

Whole Moong Dal

Moong Dal - Green Gram
Green Gram dal has a green husk which is used whole but is more popular in its split form with either husk removed when it is yellow or with the husk still on. The dal is dry roasted before it is used for cooking. This dal can be used to make sambhar, chutneys and also dal rice.
Uppu Paruppu
Quick Sambhar
Khichdi - Dal Rice the North Indian way

Split Urad Dal

Urad Dal - Black Gram
Black gram dal while it can be cooked just like you would Toor or Moong I do no use it for making dal to eat with rice. The black gram that I use are usually white the black husk being removed. I use the split black gram primarily as seasoning while making stir fried vegetables (poriyal), curries, etc., . The whole husked black gram I use for making idlis.
Poriyal (can be made with any vegetable)
Idli batter

Channa Dal

Black Whole Channa

Channa Dal - Bengal Gram
Channa is the Hindi word chickpeas. Channa dal is the split garbanzo bean not the white/cream beans the black or brown ones. The black ones are more popular in the South of India. I do not cook black gram dal to mush like I would the other dals. Instead I cook them to just about done while they still maintain their shape and add them to curries and stir fries for added protein.
To an unfamiliar eye confusing between Toor and Channa is easy. While toor is thin channa is slightly thicker. Once cooked the channa dal yields dal that is thicker and cannot be made to a sambhar. I have used and bought channa dal thinking it is toor till I learned to differentiate between the two.
Curries
Stir Fry - Cabbage with Channa Dal
Keerai Kootu - coming up soon

Whole Masoor with specks of the orange split masoor

Massor Dal - Red Lentils
Masoor Dal when husked and split becomes red lentils. I have not used this dal much, in fact never come across it till I came here to the US. While the whole masoor can be used similar to puy lentils, the split ones can be used just like toor dal to make sambhar and other dal recipes. Masoor dal cooks much faster than the other dals and hence can be mashed up to be used in breads.
Dal Paratha
3 Beans Soup with Collard Greens

Cooking Dal and Lentils
Cooking the lentils or dal is a breeze if you use a pressure cooker. If you do not, not to worry. You just need to plan for a longer cooking time.
Wash the lentils to remove dust and other impurities in a couple of changes of water. If using pressure cooker, add the dal, 2-3 times the water depending on how mushy or not you need the cooked dal to be. Add a pinch of turmeric, a drop of oil and let it cook for 3 whistles.

If using the stove top, bring the water to a boil, add turmeric powder and oil and then add the washed dal. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium. The dal should be cooked in 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally and make sure the water has not evaporated before the dal has completely cooked.
Note:
Do not add salt to the dal while cooking it. This will slow down the cooking process.

Which dal to choose? This is the toughest question of them all. The type of dal you choose depends on what you are going to make with it. If it is making sambhar you'd opt for toor dal because that is what has been used for a long time to make sambhar. If you were to make just plain dal which is cooked dal seasoned with onions, green chillies, coriander leaves, mustard and curry leaves your choice can be either toor dal or moong dal. If you want the dal to have some body and crunch when added to a vegetable stir fry you'd opt for channa dal. One advice I'd give is to explore the various lentils and dals and then settle on one you like the most. They are all tasty and unique in their own way.

Spiced 3 Bean Soup with Collard Greens

A couple of months ago when Google announced it is going to discontinue it's Google Reader I started looking around for alternate rss readers and settled on Feedly . I have been using it for a month and has been good. It imports subscriptions from Google Reader so switching to it was quick and easy. Just saying, in case you were looking for a reader.

This soup came about because of a need to use greens and lentils/beans and avoid carbohydrates in the form of wheat or rice one night of the week.

Pretty simple and tastes even better the next day. Feel free to use any beans you prefer. I have used kidney beans, navy beans, black beans, chick peas all to good effect. I have used masoor dal which looks very similar to Puy lentils. Use one or the other.

Having ignored Collard greens for a good 10-15 years I have started cooking with it regularly now. Unlike most greens that wilt and get soggy once cooked, collards maintain their shape and methinks it is a good candidate for soups.

If you are not familiar with collard green (I am not sure if it is available in India) think of the texture of murunga keerai(drumstick leaves) or agathi keerai (humming bird tree leaves?!) leaves when cooked. Update: As per Anita's comment Kohl Rabi is a great substitute for Collard Greens.

Spiced 3 bean Soup with Collard Greens Preparation Time:15 minutes + soaking time for beans
Cooking Time:40-45 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 cup black beans soaked overnight
2. 1 cup Masoor dal or Puy Lentils
3. 1 1/2 cups Red Kidney beans soaked overnight
4. 1 sweet potato (with white flesh) peeled and chopped into fairly big cubes (optional)
5. 1 red onion chopped fine
6. 5 garlic cloves minced
7. 1 tbsp grated ginger
8. 1 tomato chopped fine or 1 tbsp tomato paste
9. 1 tbsp heaped curry powder or any masala powder (I used meat masala powder)
10. 1 tbsp red chili powder or to taste or 1/2 chilli powder + 1/2 pepper powder
11. 2 tsp cumin powder
12. 1 big bunch of collard green (about 6 cups chopped leaves packed )
13. 1 bell pepper or cherry pepper chopped
14. salt to taste
15. 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Cook the Kidney bean and Black beans till they are half way cooked.
2. Heat a wide mouthed deep bottomed pan (I used a Dutch oven) and heat the olive oil. When hot add the onions and garlic. Let saute till the onions become translucent.
3. Add in the ginger and saute for a couple of minutes followed by the bell pepper, let saute for a few minutes.
4. Add in the curry powder, chili powder and cumin powder and mix it well into the onion mixture.
5. Now add the soaked masoor dal and saute for 3-4 minutes.
6. Add about 3 cups of water and let it come to a boil. Continue to simmer till the masoor dal/lentils are almost cooked about 5-8 minutes.
7. Add the kidney and black beans and let them cook for about 4-5 minutes.
8. Add in the collard greens, salt and more water if required. (We like the soup fairly thick with just a little bit of the liquid, so adjust water accordingly.
9. Let it continue to boil for another 20 minutes or so. Towards the end add the cubed sweet potato. Cook for 3-4 minutes more and turn off the heat. Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving. Toasted crusty bread goes great with the soup.

Pique - Puerto Rican hot sauce the Indian way

Some people like it hot some like it sweet. In my case I like them both equally and there in lies my food problem. I tried to avoid stealth sugary foods like flavored yogurts, smoothies and fat free everything but try is the operative word here. Without the stealth there are quite a lot of straight forward sugary stuff that I tend to eat knowing fully well what they are. To compensate this sugar eating not exactlyI also go overboard eating spicy foods Indian pickles being foremost.

Unfortunately all this had to come to an end when someone pointed to my expanding bottom and middle. Did they really have to? The reins have to be thrown in and something done about it. My complacency came from the fact that I exercise regularly. I had portion control under control for a while till I let it fall in the wayside again because I exercise. Anyway no more blinkers on, back to belt tightening. This does not mean I am going on a crash diet or any such thing just that I have started exercising portion control again, controlling the snacking and trying to put control on runaway carb consumption.

Spring and Summer are the perfect times to start eating less carbs as there are a lot more vegetables and fruits to choose from. Took a leaf out of Nupur's philosophy of regular pantry cleanout and starting to whittle down my collection of lentils and beans.

Now to the recipe,

I found a recipe for Pique in the lifestyle book our realtor sends regularly. I have never heard of Pique before. This spicy vinegar soaked vegetables is right up my alley. I started a search of Pique recipes to see how they are made and their variations. The one I saw in the book and what I found online were very different. I found out that Pique is usually made with vinegar and fruit juices - pineapple rinds. I did not have pineapples and so followed the recipe in the book which made no mention of pineapples. I used cilantro seeds instead of the leaves that the recipe called for and completely omitted any oil. It is so very easy to put together and a condiment suitable on all kinds of things. Any crunchy vegetable will work here.

I don't think the peppers or the other vegetables in the pique are eaten but are more for flavoring the vinegar which is the condiment is used for seasoning. The vinegar gets topped to keep it going for a long time. My purpose was totally different I wanted the vinegary vegetables rather than the vinegar itself. But hey the end use is up to you. I do not use oregano which is the herb used for seasoning so I skipped that one.

Pique - Puerto Rican hot sauce
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time:20 minutes
Ingredients

1. 4 Cherry Peppers and+ Serrano chilies + 6-8 Thai chilies (use any you have on hand)
2. 6-8 cloves of garlic
3. 2 inch piece of ginger peeled and sliced thin
4. thinly sliced carrots (I did not use them)
5. 1/2 tsp of coriander seeds
6. 1/2 tsp of peppercorns
7. 1 tsp kosher salt or sea salt (non-iodine salt works best)
8. a pinch of sugar
9. 4 cups of distilled white vinegar
10. juice from half a lime
11. Keep Ready: Clean glass jars for storing the pique

Method

1. Slice the chilies in half and remove the seeds. (If you are only going to use the vinegar just make slits and leave the chilies whole).
2. Bring 1 cup of water to boil and add the chilies, garlic, ginger and the carrots, leave for a minute or two and drain completely. Add them to the glass jars. Add the salt and sugar to the jar.
3. Heat the vinegar to just below boiling, squeeze the lime and add the vinegar to the glass jar over the vegetables.
4. Gently pound the coriander seeds and pepper corns and add them to the jar.
5. Let it cool and come to room temperature. Cover with a white cloth and place the jar lid and let sit in the sun for a couple of days before using.
Works great over steamed vegetables, rice and as a condiment for pretty much anything.

Mathy Meen Kuzhambu - Spicy and Sour Sardines curry with Gambooge

Mathy meen kuzhambu is a specialty of Kerala that has become a much loved by everyone in the house. Sadly I have never tasted it till a few years ago. The curry was talked of highly by DH's SIL tasted in Kerala on her numerous visits there. The very first time we tasted nor surprise there we were hooked too. The problem is we cannot visit Kerala every time we want to taste this curry so I had to get down to business and learn to make the curry myself.

The curry itself is not hard provided the right ingredients are on hand. I found Gambooge or Goraka as it is called in Srilanka on my last visit to the Srilankan grocery store which is an important ingredient for this Kerala style fish curry. Unlike in TamilNadu where we use tamarind pulp for fish kuzhambu, in Kerala Kodumpuli or Gambooge is what is used for the sourness. Smoky with a subtle sourness it indeed is perfect for fish curry.

The toughest part is finding fresh sardines. I found a packet of frozen sardines in the Indian grocery store. Sardines in general are very smelly fish. I did not realize the frozen fish were not cleaned. If I had known I would have never picked them up. Glad I did not know and this is how the fish curry came to be. As for the smell in the kitchen sink a combination of besan flour (kadalamavu), distilled white vinegar and baking soda took care of it. Sprinkle each of them i nthe sink and wash off after about 1/2 hour or so.

Anyway once thawed for the cleaning part, the fish scales had to be removed and then a cut is made from the tail along the abdomen all the way to the head. Do NOT cut all the way thorough as to split the fish in half , just enough to get the innards and then the gills out. I left the head in but it is ok to chop it off too. Once cleaned rinse them clean, add a tbsp of turmeric powder and mix it into them and let them be till you get the other ingredients ready.

Shallots are a must for this curry. The other onions will work too but shallots are the best for this. If you do not have Gambooge tamarind will work in a pinch but make the pulp as thick as possible or use tamarind paste.

I had Bharathy of Spicy Chilly's recipe to guide me in the process.

Mathy Meen Kuzhambu - - Spicy and Sour Sardines curry with Gambooge Preparation Time:20-30 minutes
Cooking Time:45 minutes
Ingredients

1. 12-16 cleaned sardines
2. 4-5 pieces of gambogee washed and soaked in 1/2 cup of water
3. 10 shallotes (about 1 - 1 1/2 cups) chopped
4. 4 green chilies slit
5. 1 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder if using regular red chili powder about 3/4 tbsp or to taste
6. 1/2 tbsp coriander powder or sambhar powder
7. 2 tsp of regular chili powder only if using Kashmiri chili powder
8. 5 garlic cloves sliced
9. 1 1/2 tbsp of grated ginger
10. 1/2 tsp of roasted and powdered methi/fenugreek seeds
11. salt to taste
12. 2-3 tsp of turmeric powder
13. seasonings: curry leaves 2 sprigs, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and methi seeds all about a pinch

Method

1. Wash and clean the fish, rub it with turmeric and set aside.
2. In a wide mouthed pan heat oil and when hot add the seasonings, cumin,methi and mustard, let the mustard seeds pop and then add the curry leaves.
3. Add the green chilies and onions and let it saute till they become translucent, now add in the garlic and ginger and saute till the onions start to turn brown.
4. Add the chili powders, sambhar powder/coriander powder and salt, mix it in well and add about 3 cups of water (the water should be enough to submerge the fish you have on hand after the gravy thickens a bit).
5. Let it come to a boil and let simmer takes about 6-8 minutes. Now add in the gambogee water and all. You do not have to squeeze like you would regular tamarind. Let boil for another 8-10 minutes.
6. Add in the fish gently and let them all be immersed in the curry. Cook for another 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle the fenugreek/methi powder. Turn off the heat. Let sit. The longer the curry sits the tastier it gets.
Note: 1. If you do not have sardines or do not want to use it other fish will work with this curry as well methinks.
2. Sardines have a lot of scales and bones so be careful while eating and watch for the bones.

Spicy Grilled Rack of Lamb with Indian spices

What kind of parent are you? That sounds kind of harsh. Wait wait nobody said that to me yet. Not on my face at least. OK this is what happened last week. DD2 disobeyed DH. She did not do something that she had been asked to do regularly and was grounded. The punishment? she cannot read her favorite book that had kept her occupied night and day while everything else fell on the way side. She moped around a little bit and moved on to read other stuff. I intervened and asked him to go easy on her but he did not budge. Not that he is the punishing kind and rarely threatens with consequences but if he does he follows through.

I on the other hand threaten dire consequences all the time but rarely if ever follow through. So they have learned that coming from me it is all bark and no bite. DD in a moment of utter honesty even told me why my threats don't matter much. Reverse positions I would have give in in a couple of hours and she would have been back to her favorite book and to doing what I asked her not to do. It is all my parents' fault. They rarely if ever punished me and I seemed to have taken a leaf out of their parenting manual but with a lot more yelling and screaming. Shame on me yes. A tiny part of me justifies my behavior saying what is the worst that can happen. These small mischiefs are is no big deal. DH tends to disagree.




There lies the parenting conundrum. We try our best to show an united front and not contradict one another when there is an argument. If we show disunity the kids are very smart and learn to pitch one against the other and end up doing whatever they want to do.

So which camp do you fall into? Stand firm or wobbly?
Now on to the recipe,

Lamb is not something that we regularly and a rack of lamb more so. DH on the other hand is very fond of lamb and cooking a rack of lamb is something he has wanted for a while. This time on our visit to Whole Foods he picked one up. My only condition was it has to be spicy and he found the perfect recipe here.

We decided on using some Indian spices to jazz it up a bit. To our surprise the grilled meat came out soft and juicy and tasty and it was the best we have tasted in a long time. The ones I have tasted at restaurants tend to be chewy and not that very good.

It is very important to marinate the meat for at least 4 hours else the meat might not absorb all the spices.

Spicy Grilled Rack of Lamb with Indian Spices
Preparation Time:20 minutes + 8 hours marination
Cooking Time:30 - 45 minutes
Ingredients

For the marination
1. 1/2 onion sliced
2. 3 cloves of garlic chopped
3. 1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger
4. 3 tsp turmeric powder
5. 1 tbsp red chili powder
6. 1/2 inch stick of cinnamon
7. 1/2 cup of whisked yogurt
8. 1 tsp of pepper
9. 1 tsp of cumin powder
10. handful of chopped coriander leaves
11. rock salt (regular salt will work as well)
12. 1/2 tbsp lime juice
For the sauce
13. 2 tsp olive oil
14. Marinade saved

Method

1. Wash and dry the lamb and apply turmeric over it and let it sit.
2. Mix together all the ingredients under the marination section in a wide mouthed pan and apply it over the lamb. Now transfer the contents to a Ziploc bag and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. We left it for over 8 hours.
3. Preheat your gas or charcoal grill to about 350F. Gently remove the lamb from the marinade and wrap the bones with aluminum foil. Save the marinade.
4. Place the rack of lamb on the grill, let grill on one side for 20 minutes, turn over and grill for another 15 minutes or so till done.
5. For the sauce, As the lamb is grilling, heat a sauce pan and add the olive oil and when hot add the saved marinade and in medium heat slowly bring to a boil and cook for 10-12 minutes.
Serve lamb with brown rice and the sauce on the side.