Mutton dressed as raan

By Birgitta

Find yourself some mutton, give yourself a week to work on it and prepare yourself, your family and friends for the most memorable Easter feast ever.

Ingredients

• For the dry rub:
• A leg of mutton, around 2 kg (serves 8)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 walnut-sized piece fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 Cinnamon stick, about 3 cm long
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 a lemon
• For the wet marinade:
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
• 250 g yoghurt
• 100 g blanched almonds
• 100 g blanched pistachios
• To finish:
• 3 tablespoons honey
• For the rice:
• 1 kg long grain or basmati rice
• Another healthy pinch of saffron
• A pomegranate
• 50 g pistachios
• A small bunch of fresh coriander

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from guardian.co.uk

Preparation

Step 1

Day 1: Trim the mutton leg of most of its fat. There won't be much and most of it will render out in the cooking. Make three or four cuts, almost down to the bone, along the length, then three or four cuts of similar depth across the the leg. Flip it over and repeat on the other side.

If you have cardamom pods pour them onto the table and roll gently over them with the side of your pestle, then pick out the pod husks. It's the fastest way and you needn't be too fussy about getting it all out. Put the seeds and the rest of the dry rub ingredients into a mortar or blender along with the roughly chopped garlic and ginger. Clobber to a pulp adding the juice of half a lemon to form a paste. Rub the paste onto the mutton leg, working it well into the cuts then seal it into a heavy-duty resealable food bag and allow to marinate in the fridge at least overnight.

Day 2: Soak the saffron threads in a little hot water for ten minutes then add, along with the nuts, to the yoghurt and blitz everything until smooth. Pour into the marinating bag, seal back up then massage it ferociously to work the liquid into the cuts. Return the bag to the fridge for 24 hours or at least overnight.

Feast Day: Preheat the oven to 225C and put the lamb on a rack in a baking dish. You can, if you wish, roast potatoes alongside. Drizzle with honey and cover with a foil tent. Give the raan half an hour at this high heat then lower the heat to 160C and continue to cook for 50 minutes per kilo. Allow the meat to rest for 20 mins or so. It should be juicy and slightly pink at the bone. If you wish, use a little extra yoghurt to loosen the crust in the bottom of the roasting tin and serve as an extra sauce.

While the meat is resting cook up a good kilo of rice, long grain or Basmati, with another large pinch of saffron. After draining, stir in some pomegranate seeds, pistachios and chopped fresh coriander. Food grade gold leaf is a ridiculous and marginally offensive luxury in such straightened times. I'll post the address of a supplier if anyone has the banker's chutzpah to ask.