Summer is well and truly here – it has even been glorious in Newcastle! We tried out this recipe at the weekend and it was so good. It’s really great to find a burger recipe with a difference, and the chilli, herbs and spices work so well with the lamb. So fire up your barbecue and get cooking!

This recipe is originally from the BBC website.

Ingredients (makes 6 burgers – can be frozen too)

For the burgers
1 small onion, quartered
4cm/1½ in piece fresh ginger
4 large garlic cloves
20g/¾oz fresh coriander, stalks and leaves
2-3 green chillies, chopped or ½-1 tsp red chilli powder
450g/1lb lamb mince
¾ tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 large free-range egg
2 slices thick-cut white bread, processed to crumbs in a food processor
2 tbsp oil, for greasing

For the herbed yoghurt
200g/7oz Greek-style yoghurt
30g/1oz fresh coriander leaves
15g/½oz fresh mint leaves, or 1 tbsp good quality dried mint
1-2 green chillies, finely chopped (optional)
salt, to taste
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

To serve
6 hamburger buns
Salad

Method

1. For the burgers, using a hand blender, roughly chop the onion, ginger, garlic, coriander and green chillies by pulsing, or chop them all by hand. Place into a bowl with the lamb mince, add the cumin, garam masala, salt, egg and breadcrumbs and mix well.

2. Shape into six burgers and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes, or until you are ready to cook them. Take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before you start cooking.

3. Meanwhile, for the herbed yoghurt, mix together all the ingredients for the herbed yoghurt in a bowl and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4. Preheat the grill to high. Place the burgers on a well-oiled baking sheet and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side. They can also be cooked in an oiled non-stick pan for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway.

5. While the burgers are cooking, heat the buns in the oven for the last 3-4 minutes of the cooking time (this is optional – we didn’t bother!).

6. Serve in burger buns with salad – enjoy! 🙂