Champ chops

This lamb dish is sure to bowl you over

THE chaamp, or the chop to call it by its English name, has always been our weakness. We love it every which way, grilled or fried or covered with tempting mince or hidden within a Bengali alu chop. Even in a plain mutton curry, we prefer it to a nalli. For one, we have always found it a chore to crack open the bones to suck the marrow and then the chaamp is a two-in-one delight.

It has the feel of a mini-pasanda and does give you a bony handle to flaunt it about. It is the chaamp that to our mind is the crowning glory in the barra kebab. Good friend Jiggs Kalra once stunned gourmet diners by unveiling a rack of lamb by arranging on a platter a semi-circle of unseparated chops flavoured with cloves and cinnamon. The delicious coronet that made a debut at Delhi ka Aangan was an absolute winner.

The best way to enjoy a chaamp for us is to get the butcher to cull or carve one out of three bones of the rib cage and flatten it in a large serving portion. Half the battle is won when the tenderising marinate is done. Well worth waiting for a few hours as the process lets the flavour seep in. Then all that remains is to pan-grill it on medium heat for approximately 20 minutes.

Recently we had a delightful tandoori chaamp at the IIC in the Capital and this is what has triggered this mouth-watering chain of thoughts. Not everyone has access to a mini-tandoor but don’t despair. You can indulge in this delicacy by pressure cooking the chops till done to taste and finishing on tawa or you could use a pre-heated electric oven. Go ahead don’t resist.

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