This is a California Parsi dish; we never had lamb tenderloin in Bombay. Some years ago, we were marinating lamb tenderloins in pomegranate molasses, black pepper, and some garam masala. My mother looked at the tray and beckoned me out of the kitchen with a strange grin on her face. “Niloufer, are these the lambs’. . . lollipops?” she asked. Lollipops they’ve been since then.

Lamb tenderloins are an unabashed luxury, because each lamb has only two. The recipe is simple. No ginger and garlic, no elaborate ground masala or long marinating here, because the meat is cooked quickly and the spices need to stay on the surface instead of being drawn down into the flesh. Quantities are suggested, not ironclad.

These are very good with grits or polenta and Parsi Ratatouille.