Uberoi-Style Leg of Lamb
There is no photo for this recipe - sorry! So we’re sharing this photo we love of Floyd and Barkha (far left) with friends Bill and Harveen, Hank and Angela, and Ajay and Alka.
Excerpted from Flavorwalla by Floyd Cardoz (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2016.
From Floyd:
This tender, spicy, pretty much foolproof roasted lamb is named in honor of my good friends Angela and Hank Uberoi. We met at Tabla at a special wine dinner I prepared that Hank attended. We really hit it off and for many years now, Barkha and I have been blessed to count Angela and Hank among our close friends.
Of course, friendship with me means that I’ll usually ignore you when you tell me not to bring any food to your dinner party. One year, Hank told me I could bring one item to their annual holiday celebration. So I turned up at their place the morning of the party with three legs of lamb marinating in a fragrant concoction I’d come up with the night before and a request to borrow their oven for a few hours. (Hank and Angela can confirm that friendship with me sometimes means that I’ll take over your kitchen for a few hours when you are throwing a party for forty.) I’m pleased to report that any irritation I likely caused dissipated when the lamb turned out so beautifully that Hank’s brother-in-law, Bill, requested the recipe that evening. Because the very first one was made in the Uberois’ kitchen, it will forever more be my Uberoi-style leg of lamb.
A couple of ingredient notes are in order. First, I really do mean that you should have 8 ounces of trimmed cilantro, so make sure that you buy enough that you’ll hit that target once it’s trimmed. You can find big, inexpensive bags or jars of crispy fried shallots (sometimes called fried red onions) at any Asian or Indian grocery store. In the United States, the more processed and less delicious version is more familiar, especially since it appears atop thousands of green bean casseroles across the nation every Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, all across Asia and the Indian subcontinent, good fried shallots are a year-round pantry staple.
SERVES: 8-12
COOKING TIME: 4 ½ - 5 hours
INACTIVE TIME: 24 to 36 hours for marinating
INGREDIENTS:
One 7- to 8-pound/3.18- to 3.63-kilogram leg of lamb, leg bone left in, aitchbone and most of the external fat removed
Kosher salt
1½ dried chipotle chiles
1½ tablespoons coriander seeds
1½ tablespoons fennel seeds, preferably Lucknow
1½ teaspoons black peppercorns
Half a 3-inch cinnamon stick
4 green cardamom pods
3 black cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
1 tablespoon turmeric
1/3 plus ¼ cup water
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin coins
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
8 ounces/227 grams trimmed cilantro, including tender stems, washed and dried and coarsely chopped
¼ cup canola oil
2½ cups (6 ounces/170 grams) store-bought fried shallots
DIRECTIONS:
Season the lamb generously on all sides with salt. Let stand at room temperature while you make the rub.
Heat a small cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the chipotles and toast, turning once, until slightly colored on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool.
Transfer the chipotles to a spice/coffee grinder. Add the coriander seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, green cardamom, black cardamom, and cloves and finely grind. Transfer to a small bowl. Add the turmeric and 1⁄3 cup of water and stir to make a smooth paste. Set aside.
In a blender, combine the garlic, ginger, and the 1⁄4 cup water and blend to a smooth paste. Set aside.
Add the yogurt and cilantro to the blender and blend until pureed and uniformly green. Set aside.
In a Dutch oven or large stew pot, heat the oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the reserved ginger and garlic paste and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the reserved ground spice paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it is very fragrant and the oil begins to separate a little, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the fried shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors marry, about 10 minutes; add a little water if the paste begins to stick to the pan. Season to taste with salt. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
Add the yogurt-cilantro mixture to the cooled spice paste and stir until well combined. Taste and add salt if necessary.
Place the lamb in a large baking dish and rub the paste all over it. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours, and up to 36 hours.
Remove the lamb from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the lamb, with all the paste, in a turkey roaster or other large roasting pan. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan by about 3⁄4 inch. Cover the roasting pan with foil, place in the oven, and roast for 1 hour.
Turn the lamb and baste with the liquid in the pan. Replace the foil and roast for 30 minutes.
Turn and baste the lamb, cover the pan with foil again, and roast for 30 minutes longer.
Remove the foil, turn and baste the lamb again, and cook until fork-tender, about 1 ½ hours. Transfer the lamb to a cooling rack and let stand for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the roasting pan over two burners and bring the cooking liquid to a boil over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan to free any stuck-on bits. Pour into a bowl or a sauceboat. Slice the lamb. Serve with the sauce.
