Slow Cooked Lamb with Mint Paratha

Slow Cooked Lamb with Mint Paratha

Cooked slow and low for maximum flavour, we’ve served this lamb with raita and mint paratha.

Serves

4-6 People

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

4-4.5 hours

Ingredients

  • 1.5 – 2kg lamb shoulder
  • 2 onions (sliced)
  • 4 garlic cloves (sliced)
  • 1 thumb ginger (grated)
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 tin chickpeas (drained)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 400ml beef/chicken/lamb stock

For the marinade:

  • 250g Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp cardamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp coriander
  • 1/2 a lemon (juiced)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp ground ginger

For the mint paratha:

  • 1 cup fresh mint (chopped)
  • 2 cups wheat flour plus some for dusting
  • 4 tsp sunflower or veg oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 dried chilli
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp garam masala

Method

For the lamb:

  1. The day before serving, prepare the marinade: In a heavy gauge pan, toast the black pepper, cardamom, cumin, and coriander to release their aromas. Then crush them in a pestle and mortar. Once cooled, mix the newly ground spices with the yoghurt, lemon, salt, garlic, and ginger.
  2. Score the lamb shoulder (about 1 cm deep) and work the marinade all over it. Leave covered overnight.
  3. Before serving, preheat your oven to 200C.
  4. Line a large, deep roasting tray with onions and chickpeas. Toss in the garlic (crushed or whole), grated ginger, bay leaves, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Cover with your stock of choice.
  5. Wipe the excess marinade off the lamb and place it on top of the stock / onion mixture. Place in a hot oven for 25 mins until it’s browned on top.
  6. Reduce the temperature to 150C.
  7. Cover the whole tray tightly and roast for 3 hours until the meat is tender and forks easily off the bone. Rest for 20 mins. Use the stock mixture as a sauce and season to taste. Optional: reduce the stock in a pan to thicken and intensify. Serve with paratha and pomegranate seeds. Enjoy!

For the paratha:

  1. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, 2 tsp of the oil and salt.
  2. Fold in 1/2 cup of the mint leaves.
  3. Making a well in the centre pour in the water, then knead lightly for 5 mins till the ingredients are mixed well. The dough should be smooth. If needed, add a little more water. Cover with a damp clean tea towel & leave to rest in a warm place for 30 mins.
  4. Heat a heavy gauge pan and fry the other 1/2 cup of mint leaves until roasted and dry. Add and gently toast the chilli, cumin and fennel seeds. Put the spices and mint on a plate to cool. Then blitz with a hand blender or grinder. Stir in the garam masala and paprika to the mint spice mix and set aside in a bowl.
  5. Take the dough knead for 5 mins, then divide into medium sized balls dusting with flour so they can be rolled out to thin 20cm chapatis.
  6. Brush each chapati with oil, then sprinkle over the spice mix. Fold the chapatis from the edge into a pleated fan and roll into a tight circle. They should look like a snail shell. Once you’ve rolled all the balls in this shape, cover over with a damp tea towel and leave for 15 mins.
  7. Take each pleated ball roll out to a paratha of 15 cm.
  8. Heat a large heavy pan to a medium heat and cook each side of the spatula until it puffs up. Then spread a little oil on each side, cooking and flipping until the paratha is golden.
  9. Keep warm until ready to serve.
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