National day lunch
Australia and India share a national day on 26 January. Here is what we might serve at a BBQ on that day.
It may surprise you to learn that India and Australia observe their national day on the same date.
Indians celebrate the nation’s Republic Day, which is a public holiday, on 26 January. It is the day when India’s constitution came into force in 1950, completing the country’s transition to becoming an independent republic.
Australia Day is also observed on that day. The traditional celebration is to drink a lot of beer and barbecue some lamb. It is the middle of summer and is usually hot across the country. Something light makes sense.
This menu has some barbecued lamb cutlets, served with kachumber, a spinach salad, and some raita and chapatis. For dessert, I suggest fresh fruit. I would also have some Indian lemonade on hand, as it will likely be hot.
The preparation is simple and can be done well in advance. Marinate the cutlets overnight. Prepare the salads (without dressing) and the bread mix in the morning, so all you need to do to serve is barbecue the lamb, cook the chapatis and dress the salads.
the menu
main course
side dishes
barbecued lamb cutlets
Lamb cutlets, each marinated in ditterent spice blends, then barbecued. A Lucknow street vendor dish, burra kebabs are ideal for summer.
equipment
- 3 large bowl
- small frypan
- barbecue
ingredients
- 12 lamb cutlets - frenched (see notes)
for the vinegar marinade
- 2 dried Kashmiri chillies
- 150 ml red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 25 g ginger - minced
- ½ tsp jaggery
for the yoghurt marinade
- 2 green cardamom pods - broken open
- ½ stick cassia - crumbled
- 2 cloves
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp yoghurt
for the oil marinade
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp gingelly oil - see notes
for cooking
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 lime - juiced
for serving
- 400 g kachumber - see recipe
- 1 red chilli - finely sliced
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ cup coriander leaves
instructions
- Prick the lamb cutlets several times on both sides with a fork to aid the marination process. Set aside.
the vinegar marinade
- Make a smooth paste of all of the vinegar marinade ingredients and place into a bowl. Set aside.
the yoghurt marinade
- Heat a small pan over medium heat, add the whole spices for the yoghurt marinade, and fry for two minutes, or until spices darken, and become aromatic. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then grind to a fine powder.
- Add the ground spices, the turmeric and yoghurt to a bowl, and mix well. Set aside.
the oil marinade
- Heat a small pan over medium heat, add the whole spices for the oil marinade, and fry for two minutes, or until spices darken, and become aromatic. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then grind to a fine powder.
- Add ground spices, garam masala and gingelly oil to a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
to prepare the cutlets
- Place four cutlets into each of the bowls with the marinades. Work the marinades into the meat, then cover, and refrigerate. Allow the cutlets to marinate at least overnight; longer is better.
to cook
- Remove cutlets from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
- Preheat barbecue or grill to highest setting.
- Shake any excess marinade off each cutlet, and place on the barbecue or under the grill. Once on the grill or barbecue, distribute any remaining marinade over the tops of the cutlets, ensuring you do not mix up the marinades. One should be red, one dark, and one light. Cook for three minutes.
- Sprinkle the cutlets with salt, then turn them over. and pour over the lime juice. Cook for three minutes.
- Once cooked, remove from the heat, and allow to rest for another three minutes. The cutlets should be slightly charred on the outside – particularly those in the yoghurt marinade – but still be pink on the inside. The resting process will even out the cooking. If pink meat is a problem, increase the cooking time by about a minute a side.
to serve
- Prepare four individual plates by dividing the kachumber, and placing into the middle of each plate.
- Carefully stand one of each different cutlet on the kachumber. Sprinkle with red chilli slices, garam masala and coriander leaves. Serve.
notes
Ask the butcher to prepare the cutlets from the largest lamb racks they have and ask them to trim the fat from the bone. Many butchers will call this "frenching".
This recipe is best done over hot coals, which will give that slightly smoky flavour.
Gingelly oil is Indian sesame oil. It is very different to Asian sesame oil. Substitute with vegetable oil if unobtainable.
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nutrition
Serving: 225 g | Calories: 587 kcal | Carbohydrates: 7 g | Protein: 24 g | Fat: 50 g | Saturated Fat: 20 g | Cholesterol: 111 mg | Sodium: 679 mg | Potassium: 416 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 2 g | Vitamin A: 375 IU | Vitamin C: 22.6 mg | Calcium: 47 mg | Iron: 3.2 mg
kachumber
Fresh and slightly acidic, kachumber is a chopped salad featuring tomato, cucumber and onion. It is a common accompaniment to many Indian meals.
ingredients
- 1 red onion - coarsely diced
- ½ tsp jaggery - grated
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp brown vinegar
- 1 tbsp coriander stalks - finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes - coarsely diced
- 1 lebanese cucumber - pulp removed and diced
to serve
- 1 tbsp coriander leaves
instructions
- Combine onion, jaggery, salt, vinegar and coriander stalks in a sealed bowl and briskly shake to separate onion layers and coat with vinegar. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Drain excess vinegar.
- Add tomatoes and cucumber, stir gently, and refrigerate for one hour or until ready to serve.
to serve
- Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve.
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nutrition
Serving: 75 g | Calories: 36 kcal | Carbohydrates: 8 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 0 g | Saturated Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 0 mg | Sodium: 296 mg | Potassium: 296 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 4 g | Vitamin A: 590 IU | Vitamin C: 12.5 mg | Calcium: 24 mg | Iron: 0.4 mg
spinach and cucumber salad with yoghurt dressing
A fresh flavoured salad where the taste of the baby spinach and cucumber are brought out by the creaminess of the slightly spiced yoghurt.
ingredients
- 120 g spinach leaves
- 2 lebanese cucumbers
- 1 red onion - halved and sliced
for the dressing
- 100 ml yoghurt
- 1 tbsp cucumber juice - see instructions
- ½ lemon - juiced
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp salt
instructions
- Wash and dry the spinach.
- Remove the ends of the cucumbers and cut lengthwise into halves. Using a teaspoon, scrape the pulp and seeds from the centre of the cucumbers and set it aside. Cut the cucumbers into 5cm batons.
- Put the cucumber pulp into a sieve and, using the back of a spoon, force the juice from the pulp into a small bowl. You only need around one tablespoon, which is about one cucumber.
- Add the remaining dressing ingredients to the juice and stir well.
to serve
- Place spinach leaves, cucumber, onion, and dressing into a dish and mix well.
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nutrition
Serving: 50 g | Calories: 56 kcal | Carbohydrates: 9 g | Protein: 3 g | Fat: 1 g | Saturated Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 3 mg | Sodium: 185 mg | Potassium: 468 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 4 g | Vitamin A: 2945 IU | Vitamin C: 22.4 mg | Calcium: 91 mg | Iron: 1.5 mg
beetroot raita
A south Indian raita, or pachadi. This is a vibrantly coloured dish, with fresh crunchy beetroot, cooling yoghurt and a hint of spice.
ingredients
- 1 beetroot - peeled and finely diced
- 250 g yoghurt
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
to temper
- 1 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 12 curry leaves
instructions
- Mix together the beetroot, yoghurt, salt and pepper in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for one hour, or until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the sesame seeds and curry leaves and keep on the heat until the sesame seeds start to colour.
to serve
- Pour this tempered oil over the beetroot and yoghurt, stir once and serve.
notes
- Do not add the tempered oil until ready to serve.
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nutrition
Serving: 75 g | Calories: 98 kcal | Carbohydrates: 6 g | Protein: 3 g | Fat: 7 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g | Cholesterol: 8 mg | Sodium: 340 mg | Potassium: 190 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 4 g | Vitamin A: 184 IU | Vitamin C: 62 mg | Vitamin D: 1 µg | Calcium: 105 mg | Iron: 1 mg
chapatis
The easiest of the Indian breads, chapatis are a simple unleavened flatbread.
ingredients
- 1 tbsp jaggery
- 200 ml water
- 500 g whole wheat flour - (atta)
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp ghee - softened
instructions
- Warm the water and dissolve the jaggery. Set aside.
- Mix the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in the ghee. Start adding the warm water and jaggery and knead in the bowl to form a soft, smooth dough. The longer you knead the dough the softer the chapatis will be. Divide the dough into eight equal balls. Cover, and set aside to rest for half an hour.
- Roll each ball into a thin disc. Heat a flat griddle over medium heat, cook the chapati for about one minute on each side until it has golden patches. Serve immediately.
notes
- When entertaining you could brush the chapati with melted ghee as it comes off the griddle.
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nutrition
Serving: 100 g | Calories: 332 kcal | Carbohydrates: 49 g | Protein: 6 g | Fat: 11 g | Saturated Fat: 7 g | Cholesterol: 28 mg | Sodium: 293 mg | Potassium: 66 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 1 g | Calcium: 9 mg | Iron: 2.9 mg
masala lemonade
Nimbu pani is the famous, traditional and enormously refreshing lemonade from North India and Pakistan.
ingredients
- 2 lemons - juiced
- 400 ml water
- ½ tsp chaat masala - see recipe
- ½ tsp black salt
- 2 tsp jaggery - grated
to serve
- 8 ice cubes
- 2 slices lemon
- 4 mint leaves
instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a jug and mix until the jaggery has dissolved.
- Put ice cubes in two large glasses, add lemon slices and pour the contents of the jug into the glasses.
- Garnish with mint leaves and serve.
notes
- For presentation, line the rim of the glass with black salt.
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nutrition
Serving: 250 ml | Calories: 53 kcal | Carbohydrates: 15 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 0 g | Saturated Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 0 mg | Sodium: 597 mg | Potassium: 149 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 7 g | Vitamin A: 85 IU | Vitamin C: 61.5 mg | Calcium: 34 mg | Iron: 0.9 mg