Yaji Spiced Lambchops with Curry Leaf Oil and Red Wine Cherry Sauce

Ingredients for Lamb Chops

4 lamb chops (approximately 1 - 1 ¼ lbs)
Safeyya’s Kitchen Yaji Spice to taste
A few tbsp of neutral oil, like rice bran, grapeseed, or canola
pomegranate seeds for garnish
crushed pistachios for garnish

Ingredients for Curry Leaf Oil

25 curry leaves
enough oil to cover, approximately ½ cup

Ingredients for Red Wine Cherry Sauce

2 tbsp + 1 tbsp butter
½ cup finely minced shallots
1 ½ tsp grated ginger
16 oz bag frozen pitted sweet dark cherries
½ cup red wine
1 tsp Safeyya’s Kitchen yaji spice
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
2 tsps curry leaf oil
1 tsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Instructions:

First, take the lamb chops out of the refrigerator and let sit for 20 minutes to remove the chill. Mix the oil and yaji spice to make a paste and rub on all sides of the chops. Then, season with a little salt. Either grill for 2-3 minutes per side or sear them for 3 minutes a side in a cast iron pan with enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Take out and set aside to rest.

To make the curry leaf oil, Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Place the fresh curry leaves in a small ovenproof dish. Pour enough oil to cover the leaves and place in the oven for approximately 30-40 minutes or until the leaves have lost their green color and infused the oil with their flavor. Once cooled, place in a tightly sealed container and use within 2 weeks.

To make the red wine cherry sauce, heat a saucepan and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add in the finely minced shallots and sauté until lightly golden, then add the grated ginger and cook for 30 seconds.

Next add the thawed sweet dark cherries and stir. Let cook for a minute before adding the red wine and yaji spice. Stir and cook for another minute.

Pour in the balsamic vinegar and curry leaf oil and sprinkle in the dark brown sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer together until the flavors have combined.

The sauce may still be a little runny. To thicken, stir some of the sauce with the cornstarch and add back in and cook for another 30 seconds.

Finally, add a tbsp of butter, stir, and take off the heat.

To serve, plate the lamb chops, pour on the sauce, drizzle with a little extra curry leaf oil, and top with pomegranate seeds and crushed pistachios.

* Note: I used safeyyas.com to order my yaji spice. This is the brand I prefer, but you can purchase yaji spice on amazon.com or if you are local, vist Global Food Market on Penn Ave.

Recipe by Veda Sankaran / Photography by Dave Bryce