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Cut off the stems, leaves, and tips from the radishes and then cut them into flowers. (Starting from the tip end, start cutting into halves, but stop short as you reach the stem end. Next, cut into quarters and eighths the same way.) Put into a small bowl of ice water, cover, and refrigerate. It will look prettier if you use unblemished radishes of approximately the same size for this.

Now light your fire. If it takes 20 to 30 minutes to get red hot, start about 1 hour and 15 minutes before you intend to eat. When hot, place the metal grill at the lowest notch.

Lift meat from bowl (leaving marinade) and place on grill. Sear 5 to 8 minutes (depending on your stove) on either side. Now raise the grill to its topmost notch and cook about 20 minutes on each side. Brush frequently with the marinade until it is all used up. If you don’t have a grill that moves up and down, just remember that the meat needs to cook about 50 minutes and it should be very dark on the outside and pinkish inside. Most Indians like their meat well done; you may prefer it a bit rare, but don’t cook it too rare, as the spices inside won’t get a chance to cook through.

To serve: Warm a large platter. Meanwhile place the meat on a carving board and slice it as you would a London broil—into thin, diagonal pieces. Use a very sharp knife, and do this as fast as you can, as you don’t want the meat to cool off too much. Now slide the meat pieces onto the warm platter, leaving the slices in roughly the same shape as the piece of meat. Drain off the water from the radishes and onion rings. Arrange radishes around meat and lay raw onion rings on top of meat. Serve immediately.

This meat can be served with many kinds of foods. At a picnic, you could have it with a large green salad (head, Bibb, or romaine lettuce, with a simple oil and vinegar dressing) and roasted corn. If you are cooking it at home, you could serve it with Sookhe Aloo (“Dry” Potatoes) and Green Beans with Onion Paste.

Cubed leg of lamb, barbecued

SERVES 10–12

Here the leg of lamb is cut into 1-inch cubes, marinated as above, skewered, cooked, and served pretty much the same way as the butterflied leg of lamb.

Read the preceding recipe.

Just remember to remove all the fat and tissue from the meat cubes. After they have marinated overnight, push 6 or 7 cubes on each skewer and first sear on all four sides (5 to 8 minutes on each side). Now cook on each side for about 10 minutes, basting frequently.

Garnish and serve as above.

Boti kabab (cubed lamb kabab)

SERVES 6

In this recipe, cubed lamb pieces are marinated overnight in a blend of yogurt, tomato paste, dry mustard, oil, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and a host of other spices. The next day, they are skewered and grilled over charcoal. The meat must cook slowly, as it needs to cook through. Also, nothing tastes worse than uncooked turmeric! (You could make this same recipe in a gas or electric broiler. Keep the meat about 4 inches from heat and cook 7 to 10 minutes on each side or until each side is well browned, depending on the heat of the broiler. It should not be too rare inside or the spices will taste uncooked.

3 level tablespoons tomato paste

6 level tablespoons plain yogurt

2 teaspoons dry English mustard

2 teaspoons salt

¾ cup olive oil (or vegetable oil)

¼ cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon garam masala

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground mace

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

10 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

A piece of ginger, 1 inch square, peeled and coarsely chopped

¼–1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, or use as desired)

2½ pounds meat from leg of lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes

GARNISH

1 medium-sized onion

In the container of an electric blender, place the tomato paste, yogurt, mustard, salt, ½ cup of the olive oil, lemon juice, coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, cloves, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, and cayenne. Blend marinade paste at high