Sulla Rump of Venison with Chutney & Artichoke Crisps

preparation 30 minutes, plus overnight marinating
cook time 1 hour
Serves 4

This venison recipe combines the UK's seasonal autumn produce with Indian flavours - think spice rubbed venison steaks, piquant pumpkin chutney and crunchy Jerusalem artichoke. It's perfect for your autumn dinner party

Recipe taken from Kricket: An Indian-Inspired Cookbook by Will Bowlby (Hardie Grant, £20)

Ingredients Method

For the pumpkin chutney:
100ml vegetable oil, plus 1 tbsp
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
300g peeled, seeded and diced pumpkin
1 tsp black mustard seeds
10 fresh curry leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried Kashmiri red chillies sea salt, to taste
For the venison:
200g thick Greek yoghurt
½ tbsp green cardamom pods
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
½ tbsp cloves
2 tbsp dried crispy onions
4 green chillies, finely chopped
1 bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
3 tbsp mustard oil
Sea salt
2 tbsp melted butter
4 x 200g venison rump steaks
For the Artichoke Crisps:
1 litre vegetable oil
200g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and thinly sliced
A good pinch of chaat masala

Make the chutney. Preheat the oven to 160°C/Fan 140°C/ Gas 3. In a roasting pan, mix the oil with the turmeric, chilli powder and ground cumin, then toss in the pumpkin and coat. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Cool, then blitz to a purée. Heat a little oil in a saucepan, add the mustard seeds and when they start to splutter, add the curry leaves, cumin seeds and chillies and remove from the heat. Strain the oil into the pumpkin and season to taste with salt.

Marinate the venison. Toast the cardamom, fennel and coriander seeds, peppercorns and cloves in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until fragrant. Allow to cool, then place in a food processor. Add the dried onions and blitz to a powder. In a bowl, combine this spice powder with the yoghurt, green chillies, coriander and mustard oil and season with salt. Coat the venison in the spiced mixture, then cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

To make the artichoke crisps, pour the oil in a heavy-based saucepan, and heat until it is about 180°C. The oil is hot enough when a cube of bread sizzles when dropped into it. Carefully lower the sliced artichokes, one at a time, into the oil and cook for 1–2 minutes until light golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with chaat masala.

Cook the marinated venison in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium to high heat for about 5 minutes, turning every minute or so. Remove the venison from the grill, brush with melted butter and leave to rest for 8 minutes. Slice each piece of venison, arrange on a plate and serve with the artichoke crisps and pumpkin chutney.