Indian Roast Lamb Shanks - Raan

In a country as large as India, with 23 official languages, there is obviously much diversity in the cuisine. To think of Indian cuisine as one, is to seriously simplify a long and glorious culinary tradition, with external influences having shaped it over thousands of years.

Take just one dish, Roast Leg of Lamb, Raan. The most common recipes for this dish include yoghurt as a marinade. Yet, there are recipes for Roast Lamb that dispense with the yoghurt completely.

Why Include Yoghurt?

Yoghurt is a great marinade. The acidic properties as a result of its lactic acid content cause it to act on meats in the same way as citric acid from citrus fruit.

If you are just talking about the acidic properties needed in a marinade, then there is no real need to use yoghurt. Lime or lemon juice will do.

However, when you add the marinade to the dish during cooking, as opposed to discarding it, yoghurt has an added advantage. Being a dairy product, it adds richness to the flavour of the dish, and not just the acidic tang that you get from, say, lemon juice.

Every Dish Has a Base

Every dish with gravy or a sauce in effect has a base, or foundation, to showcase the other ingredients. Think of gravy or sauce in the same way as a stock in soup – a good stock helps you to better appreciate the other ingredients, and adds to the overall richness and flavour.

If you look at Indian or Malaysian food, you will see that many dishes have a base of onions, garlic, ginger and chillies, processed to a paste. On its own, this can be a pretty assertive spice base.

Of course, there are variants. Dishes may include galangal or turmeric, for example.

Mellowing the Spices

When added to a dish, yoghurt acts as a base or foundation, show-casing all the other spices in the dish to excellent effect. Yoghurt also tones down the heat of chillies and any sharpness in spice.

But yoghurt is by no means the only base that is effective in mellowing the characteristics of chillies and spices.

If you eat a Malay curry with a base of onions, garlic, ginger and chillies, you will recognize the assertive nature of this mix, especially if there is a lot of chilli. Malay cuisine often uses coconut milk to reduce that assertiveness, and give it the richness called lemak.

Tomatoes, in sufficient quantity, also have the same effect; but with more of a ‘fruity’ vegetable lightness in flavour, compared to rich and mellow as with yoghurt.

Lamb Shanks or Leg of Lamb

I enjoy roast leg of lamb, but when the smallest one is too large for 3 people to finish, I tend not to buy it unless planning something special. So, when I saw these packs of New Zealand lamb shanks in the Villa Supermarket in Soi Thong Lo in Bangkok, I was immediately taken.

At about 900 – 1000 grams / 2 – 2¼ pounds for 2 shanks, they seemed about right for an Indian Roast Lamb dish for 2 – either we could finish both, or we could be content with eating one and freezing the other cooked and whole. I have taken to experimenting with freezing all sorts of cooked dishes to see the outcome, and roast lamb would be a first for me, which I was quite pleased about.

Roast Lamb Shanks (Raan)

I have no objections to using coconut milk in cooking, but simply dislike having it too often. It adds a richness to dishes that for me at least, is only nice in moderation.

Yoghurt in Indian dishes is something I have enjoyed more times than I can remember, and it will always be a favourite. But, as they say, variety is the spice of life.

I have used tomatoes as a base for Indian curries many times, and find they actually combine quite well with the whole spices and spice powders that this cuisine commonly uses. Indeed, there are many Indian dishes that have a lot of chopped tomatoes in them, so this is not an earth-shaking revelation.

So, it is a natural step to attempt a Roast Lamb Shank with lots of spices, in a base of tomatoes, onions, ginger, chillies and garlic.

Preparation

Whilst some Western style Roast Leg of Lamb recipes might suggest leaving the skin on to preserve shape and enhance flavour, in Indian cooking the skin and fell (membrane) are removed together with most of the fat. This allows the spices to flavour the meat.

Cooking the Masala (Spice Paste)

One of the standard techniques in South Indian / Ceylonese cooking is to fry whole spices, then add the spice paste and fry until fragrant. Doing this takes away the brashness of the onion-garlic-ginger-chilli mix, developing a more mellow, full-bodied flavour.

So, I did this, adding the chopped tomato and tomato paste only after the masala had been fried until fragrant. I opted to use a large pan for this, rather than try and work in the casserole, as there would be more room to turn the lamb shanks and coat them well.

The Casserole or Roasting Pan

We are using a fairly ‘dry’ masala here; as I do not like to add water to the dish, it is important to use the smallest casserole possible, so that any liquid will at least cover the bottom of the lamb shanks.

Whilst not a braise (braising requires liquid to cover about a third of the joint), the intention is to roast the lamb shanks until the meat falls off the bone, and is tender enough to eat with a spoon! For this, it certainly helps to have moisture.

Roasting

As I was pressed for time, I elected for 2 hours at 150°C / 300°F, with 10 minutes under a very hot broiler to finish.

The lamb shanks have to be turned periodically to avoid them drying out. I turned after 45 minutes and 1½ hours, then again before putting under the broiler and once more after 5 minutes under the broiler.

If roasting for 2½ hours, turn after 45 minutes, 1½ hours, 2¼ hours, again at the start of broiling with a final turn midway during broiling.

Remember to rest the finished dish for 10 – 15 minutes before serving.

This dish is a natural candidate for experimenting with a 3 hour roasting time at 110°C / 230°F or 130°C / 270°F. I will be doing this, and will post an update in A Cook’s Diary when done.

Serving Suggestions

Expect a rich spicy taste, with the chillies coming through, tempered by the tomatoes. The spice powders and whole spices combine to make this one of those great dishes of Indian cuisine. Just remembering the taste makes me want to have it again.

For a dish like this, serve with basmati rice cooked with a few spices (not too much though). The coolness of sliced cucumber and mint chutney are natural accompaniments.

Pureed tomato and carrot soup, with a touch of cream would go well too.

Indian cuisine has many vegetable dishes that would go well with Roast Lamb Shank in Spices. I however elected to have it with French Beans sautéed in butter – simple and not spicy, for a lovely counterpoint.

 

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