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

Unravelling the Vibrant History of Chintz

The origins of chintz can be firmly – and humbly – traced back to 16th century India. The word ‘chintz’ is derived from the Hindi word ‘chint’, meaning spotted or splattered. These intricate designs and endless patterns were traditionally hand-printed using wooden blocks - kalamkari - and brilliantly coloured natural dyes. 
Caring hands at Ramadan

Ramadan

We often find it too easy to hurtle through the days, in an attempt to outpace the bustling city – be it London or Bombay – which always seems to be running away like a steam-engine train on a rickety track. Occasionally, it does us good to pause for thought, to disembark the carriage and sit on the platform awhile.

The Art of Hosting, with our friend Kirthanaa Naidu

How does one create a space where people can truly connect over food? How can a host make their guests feel relaxed, at ease, and suitably cared for? Since launching our all-new Dishoom Crockery, we have been pondering the answers to these questions even more than usual. We recently discussed them with Creative Director - and frequent dinner party hostess - Kirthanaa Naidu when we invited her to create a first-class tablescape in our Canary Wharf café.

Navroz

Each year, the spring equinox – when day and night are equal length – marks a transition in earth’s relationship with the sun. This event, sacred to many cultures throughout history, today thrives as a new year celebration for hundreds of millions.
In Bombay, London, and throughout the South Asian diaspora, you’ll find many folks of the Zoroastrian faith (amongst others) celebrating this new year, or Navroz as we like to call it.