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Lamb Raan

The Miniature Life
This spiced roast lamb recipe is an absolute crowd pleaser
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Prep Time 1 day
Cook Time 4 hours
Course Dinner
Cuisine Indian

Equipment

  • Dutch Oven, baking dish or casserole with an oven safe life
  • Aluminum foil
  • Baking paper
  • Cling film or plastic wrap
  • Small mixing bowl
  • Baking dish, tray or large plate
  • Serving tray

Ingredients
  

For the Lamb and Marinade

  • 1.2-1.6 kg lamb leg (this is about ½ a lamb leg) you can also use lamb shanks
  • 2 tsp salt use fine see salt if possible
  • 35 g garlic made into a paste this is roughly 9 cloves
  • 35 g ginger made into a paste this is roughly 2 inches
  • 2 tbsp. ground almonds optional

For Roasting

  • 4-6 small shallots or 3 small red onions sliced
  • 1 large bay leaf
  • 6-8 green cardamom pods available at South Asian grocers
  • 2 star anise available at South Asian grocers
  • 4-6 whole cloves
  • 14-18 whole black peppercorns
  • 10 strands of saffron
  • 2 cinnamon sticks this is roughly 10 cms of cinnamon bark
  • 75 mL malt vinegar OR apple cider vinegar
  • water keep aside about 2 cups, but the amount will depend on the size of your cooking pot

For Grilling (if you choose not to grill the lamb, make sure you mix these ingredients before serving!)

  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 30 g butter or ghee
  • ⅓ tsp dried fenugreek leaves available at South Asian grocers
  • ½ tsp chat masala available at South Asian grocers
  • ¼ tsp garam masala available at South Asian grocers and most supermarkets
  • ¼ tsp red chilli powder use paprika or Kashmiri chilli powder if you want something milk
  • a pinch of salt

Garnishes and optional ingredients

  • 1 tbsp. Greek yogurt optional
  • honey to taste optional
  • 1 tbsp. pomegranate arils
  • 1 tsp fried shallots
  • 1½ tsp sliced red or green chilli
  • 1 tsp chopped fresh coriander leaves cilantro
  • lime wedges

Instructions
 

Marinating the Lamb

  • Wash and pat dry the lamb and set into a baking dish or tray suitable for marinating and placing it in the fridge
  • In a small bowl, combine the remaining marinade ingredients into a paste then rub this into the lamb ensuring it completely covered. Cover this with cling foil and set in the fridge to marinate for at least 12 hours but ideally 24 hours
  • With roughly 5-6 hours to go to serving time, remove the lamb from the fridge and set this aside to reach room temperature. This will take about 30-45 minutes

Roasting the Lamb

  • With 20 minutes to go, pre-heat the oven to 160°C/320F (conventional) or 180°C/356°F (fan forced)
  • In the meantime, arrange the shallots/onions in your casserole, Dutch Oven or baking dish
  • Add the remaining whole spices to the onions then arrange the marinated lamb on top
  • Add the vinegar and then water. Fill the baking dish till the water is up to the halfway point of the meat (the amount will depend on the size of the baking dish and size of the lamb)
  • Place the baking dish in the oven for 3.5 - 4 hours - ensure that you turn the lamb over every hour and spoon over the cooking liquid
  • After the lamb is cooked and falling off of the bone, remove from the oven and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes
  • Strain the cooking liquid, and reserve the onions. You can discard the whole spices
  • Use forks to shred up the lamb and save the bones!
  • Mix through 150mL of the reserved cooking liquid, the spice blend listed in the "Grilling" section, lime juice, and butter. Taste the lamb. If it is a bit spicy, mix through a small amount of honey

Grilling (Optional)

  • Turn on the grill to the highest setting and prepare a baking tray with baking paper aluminum foil. Arrange the shredded lamb onto the baking tray
  • Place the tray in the grill for 5-10 minutes or until the lamb develops lovely crispy bits and char
  • Once the lamb develops nice colour, remove from the oven

Serving

  • Arrange the bones onto your serving tray and then assemble the shredded lamb onto the bone such that it resembles the lamb leg. You can mix through some yogurt to make the result a bit extra creamy
  • Garnish the Raan with pomegranate, fresh coriander, lime wedges, fried shallots, and/or fresh red or green chilli
  • Serve hot with some naan, rice or roti
Keyword Indian Food, Lamb