Bengali-style lamb with chickpea stew

Method

1. For the chickpeas: cover the chickpeas with cold water, add a pinch of salt and soak overnight. Drain.

2. Put the chickpeas in a large saucepan and cover with fresh water. Add 1 bay leaf, 1 black cardamom, 1 clove and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 1 hour, or until the chickpeas are tender. Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Set aside until required.

3. In a separate pan, heat the oil over medium heat and fry remaining bay leaves, cardamom pods and cloves for 1 minute.

4. Add the onions and fry until lightly coloured. Stir in the ginger-garlic paste and cook a further 2 minutes, until fragrant.

5. Add coriander, chilli, cumin, turmeric, remaining salt, tomatoes, potato, drained chickpeas and reserved cooking water, stir well and simmer for 30 minutes, to allow the spices to mature with the chickpeas.

6. For the lamb: combine the mustard, coriander, cardamom, bay leaf, chilli, oil and a pinch of salt into a paste and rub well into the lamb rumps. Set aside until required.

7. Pound the toasted pistachios coarsely and mix with the softened butter.

8. Roll the mixture out thinly between two sheets of baking paper. Put it in the freezer to set, then cut out 5-8cm squares and store in the freezer until required.

9. Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7.

10. Sear the rumps in a hot pan, then transfer them to a baking dish and cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes in a warm place. Put a square of the butter mixture on top of each rump and melt quickly under a hot grill.

11. To serve, put the chickpeas in deep plates, garnish with chopped coriander and a sprinkle of garam masala. Sit the roasted rump on top.