August’s dish of the month is in celebration of the game season. On the Glorious Twelfth, the first grouse of the shooting season was brought to London in the fastest mode possible; in a Porsche Macan Turbo, and served for lunch at The Cinnamon Club! Check out our feature in the London Evening Standard.

Kadhai ka shikar or game cooked in an Indian wok- Shikar is a Hindi term for hunted meat, and this kadhai-style preparation is a quick and easy way to enjoy whatever you may be able to lay your hands upon. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 grouse, breasts deboned
• 3 tbsp vegetable or corn oil
• ¼ tsp cloves
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 1 bay leaf/cinnamon leaf
• 2 medium sized onions, ½  finely chopped & ½ cut into strips 1cm ( ½ inch) thick
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2cm (1 inch) fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 3 tomatoes, 2 puréed and 1 deseeded and cut into strips 1cm (½  inch) thick
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 tsp chopped fresh coriander
• Juice of 1 lime

Spice mix

• 1 dried red chilli
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp black peppercorns
• 1 cm (1-inch) piece of cinnamon stick
• ¼ tsp carom seeds

Method

Skin the birds, and then cut the breasts off the bone. You won’t need the legs but you could keep them to use for another dish. Cut the breasts into strips about 1cm ( ½ inch) thick and set aside.

To make the spice mix, roast all the ingredients in a dry frying pan, over a moderate heat for a couple of minutes and then pound them to a coarse powder using a mortar and pestle. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or a large frying pan, add the whole spices and bay leaves and let them crackle. Add the finely chopped onions and sauté until golden. Add the garlic, ginger and green chillies and sauté for a minute.

Stir in the chilli powder, ground coriander and cumin and cook for another minute. Add the puréed tomatoes and continue cooking until they are reduced by half. Add the meat and sauté over a high heat for 2 minutes to sear it quickly. Add the onion strips, reduce the heat, stir in the spice mix, salt and sugar and cook for another minute or so. Add the tomato strips and mix well. Sprinkle in the fresh coriander, squeeze in the lime juice and remove from the heat.

Serve with paratha or a light salad.

Rogan Josh Shepherd’s Pie

How about a warming and hearty dish for a chilly January evening? Try my take on this British favourite, but with an Indian twist, combining two of Britain’s culinary loves; curry and a pie!

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 2 dried red chillies
• 1 black cardamom pod
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 onions, 2 finely chopped and one sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 500g boned leg of lamb, diced
• 1 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 700g lean lamb mince
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 25g plain yoghurt
• 1/2 sweet potato, finely diced
• 100g celeriac, finely diced
• 100g turnip, finely diced
• 2 tsp chopped fresh coriander leaves & stalks

For the potato topping

• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• a pinch of salt
• 200g floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper
• 25g butter
• 15g Cheddar cheese, grated

For the spice mix

• 3 green cardamoms
• 2 star anise
• 2.5cm piece of cinnamon stick
• 1tsp fennel seeds

Method

1. To make the potato topping, bring a pan of water with the turmeric and salt to the boil. peel and quarter the potatoes, then add them to the pan, return the water to the boil and continue cooking until tender. Drain the potatoes well, then return them to the pan and add the butter and cheddar cheese. Mash the potatoes, then pass them through a fine sieve and set aside.
2. Heat the oil to smoking point in a large, heavy bottomed pan and add the cloves, bay leaves, green cardamom pods, chillies, black cardamom pod and cumin seeds. When the seeds crackle, add the garlic. When the garlic turns golden, add the finely chopped onion and salt and cook, stirring, on medium heat for 4-6 minutes, until lightly browned all over. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, to make the spice mix, roast the whole spices and fennel seeds together in a dry frying pan on a medium heat for 1 1/2 minutes, until their aromas are released. Quickly remove them from the pan and grind or pound them to a fine powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Set aside.
4. After the lamb has cooked for 30 minutes, add the chilli powder and ground coriander and cumin and stir for 5 minutes on a medium-low heat. Add the minced lamb and tomato puree and gradually stir in the yoghurt. Cook for another 20 minutes, until the meat is tender and cooked through. Stir in the sweet potato, celeriac, turnip, sliced onion and the spice mix and cook for a further 5-8 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Check the seasoning and stir in the fresh coriander.
5. Transfer the meat and vegetable mixture to a pie dish and top with the mashed potato. Transfer to a pie dish and top with the mashed potato. Transfer to an oven preheated to 200C and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the potato topping is golden and the filling piping hot.
6. Remove the pie from the oven and serve with green salad.