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Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1 leg of lamb – 1.8kg or thereabouts
  • If using spring lamb, use two shoulders. Remove the surface fat from the leg or shoulder and prick the leg thoroughly using the tip of a sharp knife or a trussing needle. You can ask your butcher to do this.
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 sticks of cinnamon
• 3 green or black cardamom pods
• 1 tbsp butter
• 20g spring onion greens, thinly sliced

For the marinade:

• 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 200ml dark malt vinegar
• 100g crisp fried onions
• 1 tsp sugar

For the sauce:

• 200 ml tomato puree
• 1½ tbsp black pepper corn, roasted on a dry frying pan for 30 secs and coarsely crushed
• ¼ nutmeg grated
• 60ml single cream
• Salt
• Sugar to taste
• 1 tbsp butter
• 30ml rum (optional)

Method:

1. Marinate the leg with ginger and garlic paste, chilli powder, salt, sugar, malt vinegar, and fried onions, applying the paste on all sides of the leg and massaging the spice in. Set aside for 30 minutes at least, or preferably a few hours in the fridge.
2. Scatter the whole spices in a deep baking tray large enough to accommodate the leg, then place the marinated lamb on top. Pour enough water to come three-quarters of the way up the lamb. Cover with foil, place in a pre-heated oven at 150°C and cook covered for 2 ½ – 3 hours until the meat is soft and comes off the bone easily. Remove from the oven and let the leg cool. Drain and reserve the cooking liquor.
3. Once cool, make deep incisions into the leg and remove the meat from the bone. Cut the meat into 1 cm thick slices and arrange on a serving platter. Brush with butter and heat in a warm oven; hold warm until ready to serve.
4. For the sauce, transfer the strained cooking juices to a pan, add the tomato puree and cook down slowly to a thick sauce. Add pepper, nutmeg and the cream. Check the seasoning and adjust salt and sugar to taste. Whisk the butter in, remove from fire and pour over the sliced raan. Sprinkle with spring onions. If using rum, pour it into a ladle and heat it until flaming, then pour over the lamb and bring to the table as the show-stopper.

Read our interview with Vivek Singh

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