Dum Indian Soul Food’s Grilled Lamb T-Bone Steaks With Snap Pea Salad

Serves 4

Rather than marinating meat in yogurt and spices, chef Rupam Bhagat’s lamb T-bone steaks take a dip in spiced whipped cream, which melts and bastes the steaks on the grill as they cook. You should be able to find the steaks at your local butcher shop, but bone-in lamb chops will also work for this recipe.

The lamb

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon Kashmiri chile powder or other red chile powder

8 lamb T-bone steaks, about

2 inches thick and

4 ounces each Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

The salad

1 yellow onion, sliced lengthwise

1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice, divided

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound sugar snap peas, cleaned and strings removed

1 bunch cilantro, divided

1 serrano chile, chopped

1 -inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons chaat masala (see below)

½ cup olive oil

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

To make the lamb T-bones: Place the coriander and cumin seeds in a small skillet and toast over medium-high heat until aromatic and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Let the spices cool completely and then grind to a fine powder.

Place the heavy whipping cream in large bowl and whisk just past the point of achieving soft peaks. Mix the ground coriander, cumin and chile powder, then season with salt and pepper. Place the lamb T-bones in the whipped cream mixture, massaging the meat so that it’s completely covered by the cream. Let sit for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.

Whipping the cream just past the point of soft peaks allows the spices to adhere to the meat as it marinates. (Introducing the meat and salt to the whipped cream will add more moisture, so taking the cream just past the point of soft peaks will make the consistency just right.) When developing this recipe, Bhagat tried several other methods, including using a traditional yogurt marinade, but found that the yogurt-coated meat had a tendency to stick and burn on the grill. He also tried cooking spiced meat without the cream, but since the lamb steaks are so lean, he thought they were a little too dry.

Preheat a grill for medium-high cooking over direct heat. Remove the lamb steaks from the whipped cream (don’t scrape off the excess whipped cream from the meat) and season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Place the lamb steaks on the grill and cook for 2 minutes, then rotate 45 degrees so you get nice crosshatch marks. Cook for another 2 minutes, then flip over and repeat with the other side until you’ve reached your desired level of doneness. Let the lamb steaks rest for five minutes before serving.

Since Bhagat’s restaurant doesn’t have a tandoor oven, the chef relies on a grill to cook the meat. As the lamb steaks cook, the spiced whipped cream will melt, basting the meat and keeping it juicy. Bhagat says that the milk solids of the whipped cream also aid in the caramelization of the meat as it cooks. At the restaurant, Bhagat starts his steaks on the grill and finishes them in a 350-degree oven. Bhagat likes to cook the steaks to about 125 degrees for medium-rare or 135 degrees for medium. At home, if it’s nice outside and you want to enjoy your grill time, you can cook your steaks entirely on the grill.

To make the salad: Toss the onions, ½ cup of lime juice and a pinch of salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Let the onions marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

While the lamb T-bones are marinating in the whipped cream, blanch the snap peas in a large pot of salted boiling water for 30 seconds. Shock the peas in a bowl of salted iced water for five minutes. Drain and dry the peas then cut into lengthwise halves.

The idea behind the quick blanch of the peas is not so much to cook the peas, says Bhagat, but rather to bring out their bright green color. In addition to salting the cooking water, Bhagat likes to salt the ice bath, a technique he learned while in culinary school. “I think it makes a difference and I’ve always stuck with it,” says Bhagat. The chef also recommends not leaving the peas in the ice bath too long, otherwise they’ll get waterlogged.

Remove some of the smaller, more delicate cilantro leaves to reserve for garnish, then roughly chop the rest. Place half of the chopped cilantro in a blender, along with the remaining ½ cup of lime juice, serrano chile, ginger, chaat masala and olive oil, and puree to a smooth consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the snap peas, pickled onions, Roma tomatoes and the rest of the chopped cilantro. Add the dressing, tossing to combine, and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper.

To serve: Divide the lamb steaks between 4 serving plates, top with the salad and garnish with the reserved cilantro sprigs.