Tandoori Roast Leg of Lamb

by Paul Grout from MEAT London – The Book (Cloake Press)

Photography: Caroline Mardon

I love the idea of getting ‘stuck in’. Rubbing marinades into large joints of meat is a simple but effective way of adding flavours to it. This Indian-inspired Tandoori leg of lamb – cooked in the oven or in a covered barbecue – makes a splendid centrepiece. For maximum flavour, marinate the lamb a day ahead of cooking it. Serve it with naan bread or basmati rice, a crisp-textured salad and a cucumber raita for a feast.

Serves 6

Ingredients

Leg of lamb, 2kg, bone-in

Marinade

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tsp salt

6 cardamom pods

6 tbsp natural yoghurt

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tbsp ground coriander

2 garlic cloves, peeled and pounded

1 thumb size piece of root ginger, peeled and pounded

A handful of fresh mint leaves, pounded

Method

With the point of a sharp knife, cut slashes over the leg of lamb to about 3mm deep. This will allow the marinade to penetrate the meat fully. Place the lamb in a large dish or non-reactive tray. Mix together the vinegar and salt and rub the mixture liberally all over the leg. Cover the dish and put the whole dish into a fridge for at least half an hour to let this penetrate and do its work.

Crack the cardamom pods, extract the seeds and grind them well in a pestle and mortar or crushing with a rolling pin will do just as well. Now mix the cardamom with the remaining marinade ingredients, to make a paste. Remove the lamb from the fridge and rub the yoghurt mixture all over the leg, massaging it into every slash made previously. Re-cover the dish and put it back into the fridge to rest for at least 4 hours, turning the lamb in the marinade once or twice. Overnight will be even better.

When you’re ready to cook the lamb, remove it from the fridge and transfer it to a roasting tin. Leave the lamb to sit until it comes back to room temperature, around 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200⁰C/180⁰C and cook for 1 hour 40 minutes. As it roasts, baste the meat now and then with the cooking juices. If the lamb looks like it is browning too much, loosely cover it with tin foil.

Once the lamb is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it rest, with a loose covering, in a warm place, for 30 minutes before carving.

Drinks tasted on air alongside the dish