Ovens are a relatively new addition to many Indian kitchens, said Roopa Gulati: in Calcutta, this lamb shoulder would originally have been pot-roasted on the stove or cooked in a big pressure cooker. Fresh turmeric is the keynote spice here – it isn't as astringent as dried and ground turmeric, and has a bright orange hue and citrussy flavour.
Ingredients:
- 6 dried Kashmiri red chillies
- 75g ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped
- 15g turmeric root, peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp sunflower oil
- juice of 2 limes
- 2 tsp coarsely ground black peppercorns
- 2 tsp sea-salt flakes
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp roasted and ground cumin seeds
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 1kg onions, thickly sliced
- 1 garlic bulb, cloves separated and peeled
- 4 Indian bay leaves (tej patta) or 3cm cinnamon stick
- 1kg bone-in lamb shoulder
- 200ml chicken stock or water
Method:
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- Snip the tops off the chillies with scissors, shake out and discard most of the seeds, and soak the chillies in enough hot water to cover them for 1 hour. Drain, reserving 4 tablespoons of the soaking water. Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan.
- Put the ginger, turmeric and drained red chillies in a food processor and add the reserved soaking water, oil and lime juice. Process until smooth. (You can alternatively use a stick blender and a bowl for this.) Stir in the pepper, salt, coriander, cumin and sugar.
- In a roasting tin large enough to hold the lamb, mix the onions, peeled garlic cloves and the bay leaves (or cinnamon) with a quarter of the spice paste. Put the lamb on top of the onion mixture and spread the remaining spice paste over the shoulder. It's a good idea to wear disposable gloves for this.
- Roast, uncovered, in the oven for 30 minutes. Pour over the chicken stock or water, cover the tin with foil and lower the heat to 160°C/140°C fan.
- Continue cooking for 3 hours, until the lamb is so tender that it's almost falling off the bone.
Taken from Indian Kitchens: Treasured family recipes from across the land by Roopa Gulati. To buy from The Week Bookshop, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
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