On the heat. Medium

Ingredients

• 2.5 kg leg of lamb, bone in
• — FIRST RUB
• 2 tbsp raw papaya paste · juice of 2 lemons · 2 tsp salt
• — SECOND MARINADE
• 400 g hung yoghurt
• 3 tbsp ginger–garlic paste
• 60 g almonds, blended
• 2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli · 1 tbsp garam masala
• 2 tsp roasted cumin · 1 tsp mace-nutmeg
• 4 tbsp ghee, melted · saffron in warm milk

Method

1. Deeply pierce the leg all over with a thin knife, right to the bone, 30 or 40 times.
2. First rub on, worked into the holes. Two hours at room temperature.
3. Second marinade over, massaged in. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours.
4. Out of the fridge two hours before cooking. Into a deep tray, cover tightly with foil, and roast at 160 °C for 3 hours.
5. Foil off, ghee and saffron milk basted over, and 220 °C for 20 minutes to build a dark crust.
6. Rest 25 minutes. It should pull off the bone with a spoon, but hold its shape when carried to the table. Serve whole, with the bone standing.

Cook's note. Raan versus roast leg. A European roast leg is cooked pink and sliced thin. A raan is cooked to falling and served in chunks. Do not try to do both.

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