Isn’t it strange how one remembers childhood memories. This happened at the end of January when we were cooking for a private supper club booking.  The host wanted something ‘original but different’!!

I thought of so many different dishes that my mother( Joginder Beje)  had ‘fused’ in order to appease her children.  In particular were the difficult times when English friends came to ‘tea’ after school.  Over a period of time Beje had converted them to eating pakoras, samosas, Daal burgers and Lamb burgers – we are talking of 1968! I am sure my Beje invented ‘ burgers’!

What were these delicacies? Well the Daal burger was a pattie made from yellow split pea lentils and the lamb speaks for itself. However they were beautifully flavoured with aromatic spices, char-grilled and then served in a    ‘ bun’ of roti with salad , pickles and yoghurt.  In those days the people did not really understand Indian food, so it was fantastic to hear the mothers of my friends asking my Beje if they could have the recipes!

And so it was that I decided to share these recipes with others after all these years.  I was amazed how well they were received by all – particularly the lamb burgers.

This weekend we are serving the lentil patties as there is so much other meat on the menu and I hope everyone will enjoy them as much as my friends used to way back in the last century!