Ingredients
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Leg of lamb or boned shoulder (2.5kg)
Blanched almonds (50g)
Onion, peeled & roughly chopped (1)
Fresh green chillies (4)
Garlic cloves peeled (4)
1 inch cubes of fresh ginger (4)
Fresh yoghurt (300ml)
Fresh limes (2)
Ground cumin (2 tbsp)
Ground coriander (2 tsp)
Kashmiri chilli powder (2 tsp)
Blackthorn salt (3 tsp)
Garam masala (1 tsp)
Olive Oil
Butter (A large knob)
Cinnamon stick (1)
Whole cardamom pods (12)
Cloves (6)
Black peppercorns (12)
Head of garlic (1)
Onion (1 for raosting period)
Lamb stock (300ml)
Our latest recipe comes from our very own Graeme, is one of his favourites and serves 4-6 people.
I have cooked this dish several times, using 2 different recipes and in the oven or in the Kamado Joe. The original recipe is from the great Madhur Jaffrey – in her eponymous Indian Cookery first published in 1982. An absolute cracker of a book and if you see a copy in an old book store – I urge you to buy it.
The 2nd recipe I have used is from the Curry Guy BBQ – by Dan Toombs. I got this for Christmas last year and am really enjoying working my way through it. I would say his recipes are slightly more involved – but very doable and worth the extra effort.
This recipe is a blend of both probably – but either way is an outstanding way to cook lamb shoulder or leg. Ask Steve or Leon to remove the bone and butterfly the lamb – and give you some butchers twine for rolling it back up later.
Put the almonds, onion, green chillies, garlic, ginger, 100mm of the yoghurt and the juice of 2 limes into a nutri-bullet or blender and blend until you have a liquidy paste.
In a bowl, lightly beat the rest of the yoghurt and add the paste and the spices listed above. Mix well. This is your marinade – and the excess you will have will be incorporated into the sauce.
Take a small sharp knife and slash the butterflied meat inside and outside. Put the lamb into a ceramic/ pyrex dish and pour the marinade over the lamb. Press into all the slashes and nooks and crannies. Reform the meat into a roasting joint and tie up with twine. Lots of marinade will squeeze out – but this is OK. Make sure the slashes on the outside are also covered with the marinade.
Cover with cling and leave in the fridge for a few hours. Remove lamb and scrape most of the excess marinade back into the dish and retain.
Put the lamb into a roasting pan. Slice an onion and place the lamb over the onion to prevent it from sticking. Slice a head of garlic lengthwise and throw that in too!
Heat the oven to 200 degs C. In a small frying pan heat the oil and butter together with the whole spices above until they start popping. Pour this over the lamb and add 250 ml of water and cover tightly with foil.
Cook for 2 hours checking periodically to make sure there is enough liquid in the pan. Remove the foil and baste the meat.
Crank the oven up to 220 degs C and cook for another 40 minutes uncovered. This will start to blacken the edges. If you are doing this on the Kamado or Green Egg – you just roll the lamb over the direct heat to achieve the same effect.
Remove the lamb to rest, spoon off any excess fat and bring to a slow boil. Add the lamb stock. Add your excess marinade back into the sauce, 1 tbsp at a time – whisking it in as you go.
Reduce the sauce to a lovely pouring consistency and check for seasoning. Add any juices from the resting lamb, slice the lamb up and add it to the sauce and serve in the pan family style. I guarantee you will like this!!
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