Spicy Lamb Burgers with Raita

Lamb Good. Burgers Good. That’s all I really need to say.

I think this recipe came from an issue of Taste magazine last year.

Spicy Lamb Burgers with Banana Raita
Serves 6

Raita:
2 bananas
1½ Tbsp lime juice
1 hot green chilli, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 cup unsweetened yoghurt
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp salt

Burgers:
½ cup chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1½ Tbsp butter
¼ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
¾ tsp salt
500g lamb mince
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp unsweetened yoghurt
6 burger buns, or ciabatta rolls etc
mango chutney

Firstly, make the delicious raita. Peel the bananas and slice them thinly. Gently toss them with the lime juice, then add the other raita ingredients and mix gently. Set this aside in the fridge.

For the burger patties, cook the shallot and garlic gently (I used a spray of canola oil and a Tbsp water, you could cook them in butter if you must). Add the chilli, coriander seeds, ginger and salt. Set this mixture aside to cool a little. Then add the lamb mince, lime juice and yoghurt, and form the mixture into patties. Cook the patties quickly either on the bbq, or in a hot frypan, turning once, until cooked through.

Spread the bun cases with a little mango churtney. Add the patties and raita, and some other burger fillings if you wish, top with a little more chutney and sprinkling of fresh coriander, then the bun lid. I served mine with some spring asparagus, steamed beetroot, and cherry tomatoes. Beautiful!

Yoghurt Rolls

This is quick wee post on a busy Thursday… I made these little rolls last week and they were so yummy!

Before you read on, I should warn you that these weren’t made by hand. Cringe. I know. Bread purists are crying on the inside. The thing is – I’m not apologising. I love making bread by hand when I get time at the weekends, and it is delicious, but I’m just not home long enough during the week to knead and rise our bread. Ok, you got me. I’m not patient enough either. I still prefer home made bread though, so I use our breadmaker.

If you have a breadmaker, I definitely recommend Alison Holst’s NZ Bread Book. It’s easy to follow and all the ingredients are available in New Zealand, in quantities you can understand. It has heaps of different breads in it – I’ve tried most of the recipes, and I don’t think any have flopped. These yoghurt rolls come from that book, too.

These are cute little rolls that are appropriately chewy. The yoghurt gives them a nice flavour, too. I served them with bbq meats and salads. Noice.

Yoghurt Rolls
from Alison & Simon Holst’s New Zealand Bread Book

3 tsp Surebake yeast
¾ cup plain unsweetened yoghurt
½ cup warm water
2 Tbsp oil (I used rice bran)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 cups high grade flour

Measure all the ingredients into your breadmaker, in the order the manual says. Set to the dough cycle (If you want a loaf, you could just tell the machine to bake the whole thing at this point).

When it’s done, gently tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 12 portions. Shape the rolls how you like them – I made little round rolls. I placed my rolls in a deep baking dish about the size of a swiss roll tin (sprayed with non-stick spray first), evenly spacing them. Leave them to rise in a warm place for an hour, or until they double in size. After 30 minutes, Alison says you could diagonally slash the top of the rolls with a sharp knife to make the nice splits in the top. I forgot didn’t choose to do so.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200°(c). Brush the rolls with a little milk and bake for 10-15 minutes until they are golden.