The Land of Bibble

A New Chapter

Raan

Method

1. Mix all together & store
2. Prick the leg of lamb all over with a fork. With a sharp kitchen knife, make several deep gashes in the flesh. Place the lamb in a large deep roasting tin. Set aside
3. Place the ginger, garlic, lemon rind & juice, cumin seeds, cardamom seeds, cloves, turmeric, chilli powder & salt in an electric blender. Blend at high speed until the ingredients are pureed. Scrape the puree out of the jar with a spatula & spread it all over the meat. Set aside for 1 hour
4. Meanwhile, put the almonds, 2 tbsp of the sugar & half the yogurt into the blender. Blend at high speed until the mixture becomes a thick puree
5. Scrape the puree into a small bowl & stir in the remaining yogurt. Spread the mixture all over the lamb, on top of the spice puree. Cover the tin & place it in the refrigerator for 48hrs
6. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees
7. Remove the roasting tin from the refrigerator & allow the meat to warm to room temperature. Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the meat
8. Place the tin in the oven & roast, uncovered for 20 minutes
9. Reduce the oven temperature to moderate 180 degrees & cook for 1 hour
10. Reduce the temperature to warm 170 degrees cover the tin & cook, basting occasionally for 4 hours
11. Remove the tin from the oven. Using a large flat spoon & a fork, very carefully lift out the meat & place it on a large piece of aluminium foil. Cover the meat completely & return to the oven
12. Using a metal spoon or bulb blaster, remove & discard any excess fat from the tin. Stir in the saffron mixture
13. Place the roasting tin over moderately high heat & boil the sauce rapidly for 15 to 20 minutes or until it is reduced by half. Remove the tin from the heat
14. Remove the lamb from the oven & remove & discard the foil. Place the meat on a warmed serving dish. Spoon the sauce over the meat & serve

Ingredients

• 3.5kg Leg of Lamb
• 160g fresh root ginger, peeled & chopped
• 12 large garlic cloves, peeled
• thinly pared rind of 1 lemon
• 5 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• seeds of 6 cardamom pods
• 8 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons hot chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 125g unblanched almonds
• 4 tblsp soft brown sugar
• 250g yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads soaked in 2 tbsp boiling water