Lahore Kebab House, Tandoori Marinade and Streatham

On Tuesday I had dinner with a some of my family. Having lived in Streatham for a considerable part of my life, I’m always happy to return there particularly when there’s the prospect of a good dinner. My brother and his girlfriend had been to the Lahore Kebab House on Streatham High Road for a takeaway a couple of months ago. Oh how they had raved.

The decor of the place is reassuringly atmosphereless, neon lights in the window, grainy tv in the corner, long canteen style tables and you’ve gotta love a strip light.   This place is for eating, not romancing; more Lahore airport than Maharaja’s palace.

Out of the obscene amount of food that we ordered, a few things stood out: Thin, grilled, aromatic  lamb chops; crispy flat, tasty onion bhajia (no greasy boulders here!); exceptional jalfrezi, buttery paratha and hot and puffy naan, the bindi bhajia was also particularly good, fresh, spicy and delicious.  The raving was well founded.  Next time I’d stick to the lamb chops for a starter as they really are epic; the mixed grill we had was average in comparison and a bit outfacing and a bit bland even for our gannet like tendencies. The only curry that wasn’t for me was the ‘lamb on the bone’ – cinnamon is for puddings, not main courses in my view but that’s just me, others loved it.   The menu proudly advertises that it has ‘reduced prices due to popular customer demand’ and it is indeed a bargain. The place was stuffed with Asian families having dinner, not many English to be seen.  The waiters even bring you a bowl of fennel seed and sugar crystals and the end of dinner to aid your digestion. I’ve only ever seen that in India.  The difference at the Lahore Kebab House was that they used hundreds and thousands instead of sugar – very Pakistani/British, very neon lights.

I’d love to say that the following recipe was given to me by an Indian lady in Old Delhi who’d had this tandoori marinade passed down to her through the generations for hundreds of years.  She uses it every day on her street food stall to marinade paneer and chicken.  Not quite the case, I think I found it in a Sunday supplement about 2 years ago.  Regardless of where it came from I find it brilliant for firm white fish, chicken and lamb.  It’s one of my ultimate favorite recipes and is always a hit.

TANDOORI MARINADE
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
3 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp turmeric
Juice of 1 lemon
75g natural yogurt
4 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 shallot finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 red chilli, finely chopped (you can leave this out if you don’t like things too spicy!)

WHAT TO DO:

1. Toast the whole spices in a dry frying pan until fragrant and grind either in a spice grinder or a pestle and mortar
2. Toast the cayenne and turmeric then add to the rest of the ground spices
3. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients together

It makes a real difference if you are able to smother your meat or fish in the marinade and leave overnight in the fridge before cooking.  Always then cook the meat or fish in the marinade (apart from if you are grilling or barbecuing).  My favorite ways of using the marinade are for the following meats

• Double the recipe for a lamb shoulder  – slow cook for about 5 hours at 140-160C and serve with Tzaziki, pitta bread and green salad
• Push the marinade under the skin of a spatchcocked chicken and roast as you normally would; serve with some herby cous cous and roasted vegetables
• With some firm white fish or chicken on a skewer, simply grill in the marinade or barbeque and serve with some mixed rice and stir fried broccoli