Lamb raan

Dishoom p. ███-███

A wonderful dish of tender, slow-cooked raan (leg) of lamb, pulled into silky shreds and combined with a deliciously savoury masala. Apparently, it has a heritage going back to Alexander the Great’s battles in India. We serve it as a centrepiece, complemented with other dishes. We suggest using a half leg of lamb (top end) as this fits into most casserole dishes, but the recipe is flexible, and will work with any cut of lamb leg on the bone – from four lamb shanks to a whole leg. You can also make a seriously tasty Christmas raan, using a large turkey leg (remove the skin before shredding the meat in step 6). If you don’t have a suitable pot, you can cook the raan in a deep baking dish, tightly covered with a double layer of foil. Be generous with the final seasoning: the meat should be savoury and nicely spiced, with lots of lime to bring the dish together. If you are fortunate enough to have any leftovers, pile into soft pillowy bread buns and garnish with slaw (page 118), gherkins, baby spinach and fried green chillies to make our popular lamb raan bun.