This dish looks very impressive even though it can be made without much fuss. It is excellent for dinner or a special lunch, but it does need to be marinated overnight so the flavors can permeate the lamb. Serve it with a couple of vegetable dishes ad some rice.
Ingredients: (Serves 6)
- 1.7 kg (3 lb 12 oz) leg of lamb
For the marinade:
- 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 cm (¾ inch) piece of ginger, roughly chopped
- 3 green chilies, seeded
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 250 ml (8 fl oz/1 cup) thick plain yoghurt
For the almond coating:
- 3 tablespoons blanched almonds
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar (jaggery) or soft brown sugar
- 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) thick plain yoghurt
- ½ teaspoon red food coloring (optional)
- Cilantro (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 cardamom seeds to a fine powder using a spice grinder or pestle and mortar. Chop onion, garlic and ginger to a paste with the green chilies 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 ground cardamom 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 plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge overnight. Cover remaining marinade and refrigerate it.
To make the almond coating, preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F/Gas mark 5). Finely chop the almonds in a food processor or with a knife. Mix reserved marinade with the ground almonds, palm sugar, yoghurt and food coloring, if using. Uncover 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 meat nearest the bone to see if it’s cooked – a skewer should come out very hot.
Carefully press on any yoghurt and almond coating that has dropped off during cooking, so that the finished product looks neat.
Carve meat at the table for full effect. Garnish with coriander. Top servings with almond coating.
Based on 7 Review(s)