Lamb Raan Recipe

Raan is a traditional south Asian dish said to go back to 300 BC. when Alexander the Great captured the Indian King Porus in battle when Porus was asked how he would like to be treated he replied “like a king” Alexander released King Porus and they became friends. A special banquet was served to celebrate their newfound friendship and this gorgeous leg of lamb was the star of the show. This is truly a dish fit for royalty!

It is perfectly spiced, full of flavour tender meat, that just falls of the bone and is perfect to serve on special occasions.

This year I decided to serve it for the holidays, for all the trimmings, bells and whistles check out my holiday dinner post here:

Holiday Dinner 2020

This stunning dish gets its name for the Urdu word raan, which means the thigh or the hind leg of an animal, traditionally made using goat. I prefer lamb as it has a mild flavour, tenderizes beautifully, cooks well and is generally a great size for about 6 – 10 people. We want to trim the fat off but not completely, as this will flavour our meat and realise the joint where the lamb shank connects, I usually do this myself but you can absolutely have a butcher do it for you.

The lamb leg I used was around 3kg, which I’d say is pretty standard however I’ve made a chart so that you can adjust the marinade if needed

Marinade per 1kg of meat:

• 3 – 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch of fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup natural yoghurt
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/8 tsp smoked sweet paprika
• 2/3 tsp ground cumin
• 2/3 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 2/3 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 1/3 tsp extra hot chilli powder
• 1/3 heaped tsp ground black pepper
• 1/3 heaped tsp ground white pepper

In this marinade, we use yoghurt because it quicky and efficiently tenderizes the meat without making it mushy, as it would get in an acidic marinade and it holds the marinade together really well while helping everything stick to the lamb. Another twist I’ve added to this recipe is ketchup and maple syrup, the ketchup when cooked gives a wonderfully savoury sticky, tangy flavour, and the maple has a sweet, smoky, rich flavour which brings out the flavours of the spices if you don’t have maple on hand you can absolutely substitute with sugar.

Another thing to consider when making this dish is the size of your pan, you want to be able to lay down the entire leg to lay flat on the pan if you don’t have a big of a pan you can ask your butcher to cut the leg in half. Raan cooks longer than a usual roast leg of lamb, I’d recommend at least an hour per kg turning every half an hour or until a knife goes all the way through and the meat is falling off the bone.

You want to also make sure you keep adding in water as needed after you’ve sealed off the meat.

Now, my final twist to this dish is making a gravy with what’s left in the pan after we’ve cooked the lamb and let me tell you this gravy pairs beautifully with the raan, savoury, full of flavour and a breeze to make. Basically, there will be some oil, sauce and liquid after the lamb is done and resting, we start by deglazing with water then frying in some onions once the onions have fried for a couple of minutes we transfer this mixture to another pan and cook for a further 2 – 3 minutes then adding in vegetable bouillon and boiling water, bring to the boil and then to a simmer for a while and adding a cornflour and water mixture when you are happy with the flavour, finally strain and serve with the lamb.

Lamb Raan + Gravy

Hunar Baig

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Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Servings 15 – 18 servings

Equipment

• Carving forks
• Large pan
• Large bowl

Ingredients

  

• 1 leg of lamb (mine was 3kgs)
• 1 bulb garlic (crushed)
• 1 thumb sized piece ginger (crushed)
• 1 cup natural yoghurt
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp smoked sweet paprika
• 2 heaped tsp ground cumin
• 2 heaped tsp ground coriander seeds
• 2 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 heaped tsp extra hot chilli powder
• 1 tbsp maple syrup

Gravy

• 1 medium white onion chopped
• 2 tsp vegetable boullion
• Water
• 1 – 2 tbsp cornflour

Instructions

 

• Start by trimming most of the fat and releasing the joint between the leg and lamb shank or have a butcher do this for you
• Then score diagonally about 1/4 of an inch across the leg of lamb
• Grind the garlic and ginger into a fine paste and put into a large bowl

  Tip: You can use frozen ginger and garlic if you are in a pinch
• Add all of the marinade ingredients and mix well
• Massage the marinade into the lamb making sure it is fully covered, and place into a large bowl cover leave at least overnight or for up to 2 days (the longer the better!)
• If you don't have a bowl big enough you can apply layers of cling film and then a couple of layers of foil just make sure that it is sealed on all sides
• In a large pan cover the bottom with some oil and once it is hot carefully place in the lamb, seal and brown well on one side and then gently flip to the other and repeat this should take around 8 – 10 minutes each side

  Tip: use two carving forks to flip the meat over but please be careful
• Now, add in a cup of boiling water and pop on a lid bring it to a low simmer and let the meat cook for about 1 hour per 1kg or until the lamb is tender and falling off the bone this should be around 3 – 4 hours depending on the size of your leg of lamb

  Turn the lamb every 30 – 45 minutes or so and have a kettle pre-boiled to add water as needed, don't let the pan dry out!
• Once a carving fork can easily be inserted and the meat is starting to separate from the bones, then turn the heat up and brown off the meat for a couple of minutes on each side until the meat is a dark brown and you have a sauce-like consistency left in the pan
• Take the meat out of the pan and let in rest for about 15 – 20 minutes while we make the gravy

Gravy

• In the pan throw in one chopped white onion and fry off for a minute or two, then deglaze the pan with a cup of water and transfer into another pan
• Saute the onions for a few minutes until it starts to thicken then add in the bouillon and about 1 1/2 – 2 cups of hot water and bring to the boil for a minute or two then bring it down to a simmer lets it cook and come together for around 7 – 10 minutes
• Once the flavours have melded together we need to add in our corn flour that has been mixed with about 3 – 4 tbsp of cold water into the gravy a tablespoon at a time till the gravy has reached the desired thickness
• Now the gravy has thickened taste and season if needed then strain and skim the oil on the top and the gravy is done and the lamb should be ready to serve

Keyword Desi, Lamb