Anjum Anand's Honey-Roasted Spicy Leg Of Lamb
By: Beverley Ann D'Cruz
Published: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 - 6:03pm

Ingredients




For the lamb

2 1/5 kg/41b 131/2oz leg of lamb
For the marinade

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 tablespoons lemon juice
15 g/1/2oz fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
6 large cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder
salt, to taste 

1 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons water
For the honey rub

100 g/31/2oz almonds, blanched
100 ounces ml/31/2fl  Greek yoghurt
5 1/2 tablespoons honey

Preparation

1 Blend together all the ingredients for the marinade in a blender or food processor. 2 Trim the excess fat and membranes from the leg of lamb. Make deep regular cuts all over the flesh with a short, sharp knife. Rub in the marinade, making sure you get it into the deep cuts. Place the lamb in a plastic food bag with the marinade and leave in the fridge, ideally for 24 hours, or for a minimum of 6-8 hours. 3 For the honey rub, blend together 70g/2½oz of the almonds, the yoghurt and half the honey in a blender or food processor. Take the lamb out of the fridge and remove the plastic bag. Rub the honey blend into the lamb and ideally leave the lamb for another two hours (or at least 30 minutes), covered, in the fridge. Remove the lamb from the fridge and bring to room temperature before cooking. 4 Preheat the oven to 225C/425F/Gas 7 and place the lamb on a rack with a roasting tray underneath. Cook for 15 minutes then lower the heat to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and cook for another 1 hour 40 minutes, or until the meat juices run fairly pink when pierced, basting every 20-30 minutes. 5 Scatter over the remaining almonds and drizzle over the remaining honey and roast for another ten minutes. Check if the meat is cooked using a meat thermometer. The temperature should be 130-150C. The higher the temperature the more well cooked the meat will be. 6 Remove the lamb from the oven. Cover it with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Pour out the juices, spoon off any excess fat, and serve it on the side. Serve the lamb with roasted potatoes and a vegetable of your choice.

About


This recipe is by Anjum Anand,BBC television personality and author of Indian Food Made Easy. It's a delightfully easy recipe and the end product is a real show stopper.
The double marination gives it several complex layers of flavour and fills the house with a delightful aroma while baking. It tastes great cold as well and pairs well with roasted potatoes.