Dishoom's Lamb Raan Recipe

23 January 2022

Chef Naved is delighted to share the secrets of his Lamb Raan. A wonderful dish of tender, slow-cooked raan (leg), pulled into silky shreds and combined with a deliciously savoury masala. 

Lamb Raan makes a most satisfying centrepiece (especially for Eid). Some preparation is required (including a 24-hour marination, if time allows), but your efforts will be very well rewarded. We heartily recommend serving alongside gunpowder potatoes, a bowl of greens and naan.

If you are fortunate to have any leftovers, pile into soft pillowy bread buns and garnish with slaw, gherkins, baby spinach and fried green chillies to make our popular lamb raan buns.

SERVES 4-6

Ingredients

½ leg of lamb on the bone, 1.2–1.4kg

2 tsp fine sea salt

1 ¾ tsp deggi mirch chilli powder

35g garlic

30g fresh root ginger

1 bay leaf

4 cloves

16 black peppercorns

2 cinnamon sticks

6 green cardamom pods

3 black cardamom pods

75ml malt vinegar

To assemble

40g unsalted butter

2 tsp kabab masala, plus extra to serve

25ml lime juice, or more to taste

Method

  1. Place the lamb in a dish. Mix the salt and chilli powder together and rub the mixture all over the lamb. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  2. Grate the garlic and ginger using a microplane, or grind to a fine paste using a pestle and mortar. When the 30 minutes is up, rub the garlic and ginger paste all over the lamb. Cover and refrigerate for 12–24 hours.
  3. Take the lamb out of the fridge 5 hours before you want to eat and leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4.
  4. Place the lamb joint in a deep casserole pot (that has a lid). Add the bay leaf, spices and vinegar and pour in enough water to come at least halfway up the meat (around 300ml). Put the lid on and place the pot into the oven. Roast for 4 hours, turning the joint over every hour, basting regularly and topping up the water if the level goes below a third of the way up the lamb.
  5. Once cooked, remove the lamb from the oven and leave it to rest in its cooking liquor for 20–30 minutes. Preheat the grill to high.
  6. Pour the cooking liquor through a sieve into a measuring jug; discard the residue in the sieve. Working in the dish, pull the meat from the bone; set the bon aside. Shred the meat using two forks or your hands. Add 120ml of the reserved cooking liquor, the butter and 2 tsp kabab masala. Mix, taste, and add a little more cooking liquor, lime juice or kabab masala as you wish.
  7. Place the reserved bone in a flameproof serving dish and pile the meat on and around it, so that it resembles a joint. Place under the hot grill for 4–5 minutes to create a few crispy bits on top.
  8. Bring the lamb raan to the table in the dish. Have lime wedges and a dish of extra kabab masala on the table for guests to add more if they wish. You might like to serve a bowl of fried green chillies, too.
Read the café stories

Suggested Reading

See the journal

Delight in fulsome feasts and thoughtful gifts for loved ones

Whether you show fondness with acts of service or with suitably thoughtful gifts, the Dishoom Store is brimful of curiosities sure to impress loved ones this Valentine’s day. Do read on for our handy gift guide below and find an ample array of gifts from make-at-home café classics to calming home fragrance. The Home Feast will soon be making its departure from the Dishoom store, (so while you still can) delight in generous servings of our most-loved dishes, to be cooked at home.

A Little Magic

“Who wants to see some magic?” Chef Arun calls out. He flings the rolled out dough into the air, sending it soaring above the counter. It spins and twists, a graceful dancer in the air. The children watch its arc, their eyes wide with wonder, until it lands gently back in the chef's hands. The children shriek in delight.

The Dishoom Canary Wharf story – Chapter Three

The phone keeps ringing shrilly through the flat. Nauzer holds his head in his hands, palms clamped over his ears. “Beta, the phone!” He forgot his mother would still be here. He can’t have her answering in case it is Devia. He runs into the corridor to pick it up. It stops just before he can reach it. Breathless, he looks up and sees his mother in the kitchen. 

Dishoom Canary Wharf – now officially OPEN!

Tucked away in a lovely corner of Wood Wharf, Dishoom Canary Wharf is now officially open and ready to welcome you all. The marble-top bar is ready to hold your drink, the textured, patterned (and extremely comforting) chairs are waiting to be kept warm and the hand-painted mural and carefully curated art – from Bombay and beyond – are waiting to be part of your conversations.