This is a super easy, quick, and delicious MUTTON LEG ROAST RECIPE. The recipe for raan is simple, the trick in preparing this dish is the soft melt-in-your-mouth meat that comes from this recipe. It’s easy to make this delicious dish, but the key is in preparing the meat so that it is soft and melts in the mouth. Amongst all meats, I’m a big fan of mutton and the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness of this meat.
Follow this recipe exactly and you’ll love the result. You’ll usually make it in a pot but many visitors asked for the instructions in the oven and I can tell you both versions are delicious and tender. Mutton leg is referred to as ‘raan’ or ‘pulao’ in Urdu. Here both are used interchangeably.
WHY DOES THIS RECIPE WORK?
Using salt to tenderize meat in an oven is a common cooking technique called dry salting or oven-dressing. This is especially helpful for tough cuts of meat such as beef tenderloin. We have used lemon juice and yogurt as natural meat tenderizers.
Give the mutton leg a good 6-12 hours of marination. This will be delicious and you will have a soft, yummy, juicy mutton leg roast to enjoy. We use the wet cooking method to make the leg of lamb (raan). We then finish it off with an aromatic spiced seasoning. This makes it tasty and very tempting.
INGREDIENTS OF MUTTON LEG ROAST
Here are the ingredients for the mutton raan recipe, the spices are the basic ingredients, so it’s common spices you likely have at home or in your kitchen cupboard. Remember that you can always substitute whole spice for ground with a little compromise in taste.
Choice of meat: Mutton is the most important ingredient in this recipe. The meat of a mature goat is very tough. It takes a long time to tenderize. It’s true for wild mountain goats. They can provide meat from younger goats. Ask your butcher for the right cuts of meat.
Spice Mix: To make this flavorful Indian dish, I used a spice mix that included cumin, coriander, chili flakes, black pepper, and garam masala. You can make raan spice mix a few days in advance. Some more optional additions to this spice mix are 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut and ½ tablespoon fennel seeds. If you can’t stand that strong, rank odor, try adding these ingredients, which help to balance out the odors and boost the flavors of your cooked meat.
Tempering spices: Apart from cumin and garlic, which are very easy to find, you can use button chilies or dried red chilies like Thai or Peri-peri. Vinegar, mayonnaise, ketchup, and other condiments can help thicken the gravy and add flavor.
HOW TO MAKE IT?
Prepare Spice Mix and make Marinade:
- In a pan, heat cumin, coriander, and black pepper for 30 seconds. Now add dried herbs such as oregano, red chili flakes, garam masala powder, and salt. Bake for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a food processor.
- Grind the spices into a fine powder. If necessary, pass the spice through a fine sieve and discard the remains. Add all ingredients to the bowl. Spice Mix is ready.
- Make the marinade by mixing spice mix, ginger, garlic, lemon, yogurt, and 2 tablespoons in a bowl.
- Also, make deep incisions (cuts) across the grain of the wood. The deeper the cut, the more stable the piece will be.
Roasting and cooking:
- Marinate the mutton leg in the spice rub for at least 4-6 hours at room temperature or 12-18 hours in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 170°C/335°F. Add one large onion and two to three whole garlic cloves to the baking dish. This will help you raise the mutton leg above water.
- Spread the meat over the onions. Add about 1 cup of water to the baking tray. Bake the cake, covered, for 2.5 hours or until fully tender.
- Keep the mutton covered with the lid. Turn on the heat and let it simmer for 2 hours or more, adding more water as needed. Seal the pot tightly and cook on medium heat for 2-3 hours.
- I recommend checking every two hours or as needed. Add more water if the mutton leg is very dry. If you cook it a little longer, you’ll be fine. Beef should get fully tender. Don’t dry out all the gravy.
Steps to complete the raan recipe
- The best part of roasting a lamb leg is the crispy skin. Cover the meat to retain moisture while roasting.
- Transfer the platter to a serving tray and remove the raan.
- Heat the cream and ketchup (or chili garlic sauce) in the oven for 5 minutes. Then mix with the gravy and serve.
- If you want to cook in the pot, add the ketchup and cream directly to the pot and mix well. Simmer mutton, and raan, until thoroughly heated.
- Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a small pan. Add all the spices and stir to mix.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. Add oil, and sprinkle with salt. Add gravy to the platter and serve. So that is how tasty the goat leg roast comes out with the Pakistani recipe.
- A traditional Indian meal usually involves several appetizers or side dishes that go well with rice or roti. Gravy is not essential to this dish. The recipe would still taste delicious without it, and it would make the dish even easier to clean.
EXPERT TIPS
Cooking times vary by size, type, and weight of the lamb. You’ll love this lamb dish, it’s so flavorful! It’s best to use the lamb leg which weighs between 1 to 2 kg. The baking time for this recipe is 3 hours, covered, and 30 minutes uncovered. The extra weight is 1½% of your body weight. If your weight is 50 kg, then add 30 minutes to each covered
Cooking in a pan on the stovetop takes the same amount of time as baking but you don’t have to bother about an uncovered. These times are estimates always check with the fork to be sure of tenderness. It doesn’t matter which side of the lamb is the thicker side. If you’re making this recipe for a larger lamb leg, then you’ll need to add extra water to the baking tray.
