Bakra Eid Special: Roasted Mutton/Lamb Leg

A delectable dish for all the meat lovers!

Ingredients:

Leg of a lamb/mutton
Carrots 2 cups roughly chopped
Potatoes 4-6 large, roughly chopped
Peas 2 cups
Red onions 4 large, roughly chopped
Oil

For the marinade:

Yoghurt 1 kg
Cumin seeds (roasted and crushed) 4 tbsp
Coriander seeds (roasted and crushed) 4 tbsp
Salt 3-4 tsp
Meat tenderizer 2 tbsp (or raw papaya, crushed with the skin 4 tbsp)
Crushed red chillies 3 tbsp
Five spice powder 2 tbsp
Black pepper 2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Juice of 4 lemons


Method:
Clean the leg of lamb/mutton, score it/make deep cuts with a knife and apply lemon juice all over. Put it aside. In a bowl, mix in all the spices and raw papaya/meat tenderizer in yoghurt for the marinade. Mix well and apply on the lamb leg. Let it marinate for at least 6 hours. Best would be a day before you plan on cooking it.

Set the oven on the highest temperature and let it pre-heat. Pour oil in the baking tray before putting the leg of lamb in. Add the vegetables too over and besides the leg. Pour a little more oil on the top, and cover with foil. Lower the temperature of the oven to 180-200 C, and let it cook for at least 4 hours or till it's cooked through (the cooking also depends on the weight of the leg).

When I made the leg of lamb, I cooked it at 200 C, for 6 hours. I like slow roasting it so that the meat, when carved, and eaten, melts in your mouth.

Generally, a two kg leg of lamb takes about 2-3 hours to cook.