Home Made Lamb Kebabs with Garlic Sauce

Slow Cooked Spicy Lamb Roast

Spicy Slow Cooked Roast Lamb

This extremely delicious dish was inspired from Lebanese and Moroccan roast lamb recipe, but cooked with mostly South Asian spices and cooking model. I experimented this dish last Christmas and it was a huge success and I am sure you would too if you follow the below given simple instructions!


Cleaning and Ingredients

• 1 Medium size leg of lamb with bones (Approx 2 Kg)
• 1/2 cup of vinegar
• 2 teaspoons of turmeric
• 2 teaspoons of salt

Cleaning and preparing the Lamb for marination

• Pour the vinegar, turmeric, salt into a large container
• Add enough water to clean the lamb
• Wash and trim the lamb of any excess fat in the lamb
• Make deep scores in the lamb every 1.5 inches
• Place the lamb into the container and leave it for 20 -30 minutes (for making it tender)
• After 30 minutes clean the lamb with the same mixture
• Take the lamb out and rinse well with clean running water
• Drain all the water from the lamb
• Pat dry with a clean cloth to remove all excess moisture & keep the lamb aside for marination

For the masala paste

• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• 4 teaspoons of chilli powder (Kashmiri chilli powder if preferring less spicy)
• 3 teaspoons of coriander powder
• 3 teaspoons of cumin
• 3 teaspoons of  fennel
• 1 handful of fresh, cleaned curry leaves chopped
• 5-6 fresh mint leaves chopped
• 1.5 whole bulb of garlic
• 3 tablespoons of thinly sliced fresh ginger
• 5 shallots chopped
• 1 tablespoon of whole black pepper corns
• 4 tablespoons of paprika (Preferably not sweet paprika)
• 5 tablespoons of tomato paste/puree
• 4 teaspoons of garam masala
• 4 tablespoons of corn flour (Add to a hot pan in medium flame and make it light brown)
• Half a cup of extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon
• 1 cup of real Greek yoghurt (Shouldn't have any water at all) 
• Salt as required

Add all the above ingredients to a grinder/mixer and mix it until a smooth paste. 

Note - All the above mentioned ingredients is available in any South Asian stores


Marination

Place the lamb in a large tray or container. Pour all the masala paste over the lamb and marinate the paste all over the lamb, especially between the scores(Note- Please leave some masala paste aside in the fridge for using while roasting). Once the paste is evenly applied, take a fork and pierce the lamp all over. Rub the marination all over again (To get it trough the piercing).

Take an aluminium foil large enough to wrap the lamb .Place the lamb on the middle of the foil and wrap it Keep this in the refrigerator for at-least 48 hours and not more than 72 hours!

Pre-Cooking Instructions

• 2 bulbs of garlic
• 7-8 shallots
• Rest of the masala paste

Cooking Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 200C 
• Take a large roasting pan and pour  400 milliliters of water inside the pan with the ingredients mentioned in the pre-cooking instructions
• Place a roasting grill/rack on top of the pan
• Place the pan (With the rack) inside the oven
• Reduce the temperature of the oven to 140C
• Roast for about 4 - 4.5 hours, while checking and braising the lamb with the water from the pan.
• The meat would be ready when it starts to get off the bones.

Note - if the water reduces keep adding warm water to it.

Serving suggestions

This dish is best served with the following

• Roti
• Rice
• Garlic Bread
• Garlic/Plain Naan
• Chapati
• Yogurt Raitha
• Mint and yogurt green salad

The original dish claims that it needs to be in the over for 10 -12 hours, but in my recipe I have reduced it to more than half the time, but increasing the oven temperature. if you time and patience I'd recommend you to try the full hours roasting.