Nawabi Raan

This is definitely feast food – a whole leg of lamb, marinated overnight and cooked in the oven until the meat is falling off the bones. In Pakistani homes, Nawabi Raan is served to celebrate certain important events such as birth of a newborn or Bakra Eid (Eid ul Adha). It goes without saying therefore that no expense is spared to ensure that the meat is top-notch quality – organic leg of lamb.

INGREDIENTS
MARINADE

300g greek yoghurt
1 large onion
2inch fresh ginger peeled
1 head of garlic peeled
Juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime
100g fresh coriander
6 green fresh chillies
freshly ground garam masala: 1 ½ Tbsp cumin, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cinnamon, 3 large cardamoms, ½ tsp cloves
2 Tbsp freshly ground coriander seeds
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp rock salt
4 Tbsp sunflower oil

OTHER INGREDIENTS

1 ½ kg leg of organic leg of lamb
6 Tbsp of oil and 2 Tbsp ghee (heated together)
Foil
Warq (edible silver leaf) or edible gold leaf

METHOD

1.Wash the lamb, dry with kitchen towel and make diagonal slashes across on both sides.
2. Make a thick paste of all the ingredients for the marinade. You may need a little water to make it smooth.
3. Rub the mixture all over the lamb, filling in all the cuts and ensuring good coverage. Put the lamb in a roasting tin.
4. Leave it to marinade in the fridge overnight or at least 6 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Roast the lamb for 1 ½ – 2 hours; baste every 20 minutes with the oil and ghee combo.
6. Switch the oven to the grill on a high setting and grill the lamb for 10-15 minutes. Try to get some parts of the lamb chargrilled both for flavour and appearance.
7. Decorate with silver or gold leaf by dotting all over; wrap the end part of the leg in foil to create a visual impact.

Serve on a large platter, surrounded by rings of red onions, green chillies (cut thinly lengthways), sliced tomatoes, small radishes and in a separate bowl, mint yoghurt and warm naans or rotis. A gourmet version of doner kebab, eaten on a Saturday night but gracefully at a table.