Serves: 4
Total Calories: 13,926
1. Prepare the almond-poppy seed and the onion pastes. Prepare the fried ginger, if using. Carefully trim off the white membrane from the surface of the meat and, with a long-pronged barbecue fork or a thin knife with a pointed tip, prick it thoroughly all around to the bone, until all the fibers are broken.
2. In a bowl, mix together the onion and almond pastes, garam masala, nutmeg, mace, cayenne pepper, and salt and smear well over the surface of the meat. Then prick again to ensure that the paste penetrates inside the meat. Save any leftover seasoning mixture. Tie the meat with a string if it seems to befalling apart. Place in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 4 and up to 48 hours.
3. Place the marinated lamb in a large, heavy sauce-pan. In another small saucepan heat the ghee, cinnamon, bay leaves, and fennel seeds until sizzling, then pour slowly over the lamb, making sure the spices oil covers the entire surface well before settling to the bottom of the pan.
4. Cover the lamb and cook over medium heat until all the juices evaporate, about 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, turn the lamb over, add the reserved marinade plus 1/4 cup of the asafoetida-water and scrape to mix in any spices that stick to bottom of the pan.
5. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook about 1 hour until the lamb starts to soften, adding the remaining asafoetida-water as the juices dry up.
6. Continue to cook in this manner, turning the lamb to cook each side, scraping the pan, and adding 2 to 3 tablespoons water whenever the juices dry up, until the lamb takes on a rich, well-browned color all around and becomes fork-tender, 60 to 90 minutes. (Start testing after an hour, then check every 10 minutes until the meat is soft.)
7. Transfer to a serving platter, top with the crispy fried ginger and all the other garnishes (if using), and serve.
VARIATION: Alternately, starting from Step 4, place the lamb in an ovenproof dish along with all the juices and scrapings (add some water to the pan to loosen the scrapings) and roast at 300°F until spoon-soft, about 2 hours.
From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This Pot-Roasted Leg of Lamb recipe is from the 1000 Indian Recipes Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
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