|
|
Ingredients
1.5 to 1.7 kg leg of lamb
Marinade
1 teaspoon cardamon
seeds
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 cm piece of ginger, roughly chopped
3 green chillies, seeded
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
250ml thick natural yoghurt
Almond Coating
3 tablespoons blanched
almonds
1 tablespoon jaggery or
soft brown sugar
125ml thick natural yoghurt
½ teaspoon red food colouring (optional)
coriander leaves (optional) |
Method
Trim:
The excess fat from the lamb and stab the meat all
over with a sharp skewer so that the marinade will
penetrate.
To make:
The marinade, grind the cardamon seeds to a fine powder
using a spice grinder or pestle and mortar. Chop the
onion, garlic and ginger to a paste with the green
chillies in a blender or food processor. If you don't
have a processor, finely chop them with a knife, then
grind to a paste in a pestle and mortar. Mix in the
ground cardamon seeds, cumin and cloves. Add the lemon
juice and yoghurt and mix well.
Coat:
The lamb thickly all over, using half the marinade.
Cover with clingfilm and marinate in the fridge overnight.
Cover the remaining marinade and refrigerate it.
To make:
The almond coating, preheat the oven to 190°C
(375°F/Gas 5). Finely chop the almonds in a food
processor or with a knife. Mix the reserved marinade
with the ground almonds, jaggery, yoghurt and food
colouring, if using. Uncover the lamb and coat it
all over with the mixture, especially on the top and
sides. Transfer the lamb to a shallow roasting tin
and cover loosely with oiled foil. Bake for 1 hour,
then remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes,
or until the lamb is cooked and the coating set and
browned. Test the meat nearest to the bone to see
whether it is cooked – a skewer should come
out very hot.
Press on any yoghurt and almond coating that has dropped
off during cooking, so that the finished product looks
neat.
Carve:
The meat at the table for full effect. Garnish
with coriander if you like. Top each serving with
a little of the almond coating.
|
