Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

5 lb Lamb, leg of

---------------------------SAUCE--------------------------------
2 oz Almonds, blanched 1/2 ts Cayenne pepper
1/2 lb Onions, coarsely chopped 3 1/2 ts Salt
8 Garlic cloves, peeled 1/2 ts Garam masala
4 Cubes ginger, 1", peeled 6 tb Vegetable oil
;chopped coarsely 1/2 ts Whole cloves
4 Green chillies, chopped 16 Cardamom pods
20 fl Yoghurt, plain 1 Cinnamon stick, 2" long
2 tb Cumin seed, ground 10 Peppercorns, black
4 ts Coriander seed, ground

--------------------------GARNISH-------------------------------
4 tb Sultana raisins 1/2 oz Almonds, blanched, slivered

Make sure that all the fat has been trimmed from the outside of the
leg and that most of the fell (parchment-like white skin) has been
pulled off. Put the leg in a baking dish made, preferably, of pyrex
or stainless steel. Put the 2 oz. almonds, onions, garlic, ginger,
green chillies, and 3 tablespoons of the yoghurt into the container
of a food processor or blender
and blend until you have a paste. Put the remaining yoghurt into a
bowl. Beat
lightly with a fork or a whisk until it is smooth and creamy. Add the
paste from the processor, the cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and
garam masala. Mix. Push some of the spice paste into all the openings
in the lamb. Be quite
generous. (I forgot to say, you need to ask the butcher to make a deep
pocket
to hold a "stuffing", in this case, some spice paste mixture, or make
a pocket yourself) Spread the paste evenly on the underside of the
leg (the side that originally had less fat.) Now, using a small,
sharp, pointed knife
make deep slashes in the meat, and push in the spice paste with your
fingers.
Turn the leg over so its outer side (the side that was once covered
with fat)
is on the top. Spread a very thick layer of paste over it. Again,
make deep slashes with the knife and push the spice paste into the
slashes. Pour all the remaining spice paste over and around the meat.
Cover with plastic cling
film and refrigerate for 24 hours. Take the baking dish with the meat
out of
the refrigerator and let the meat come to room temperature. Remove the
cling
film. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over a medium flame. When
hot, put in the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and peppercorns. When the
cloves swell - this takes just a few seconds - pour the hot oil and
spices over the leg of lamb. (My note: I found the spices jumped and
spat in the oil quite a lot - make sure your arms and counter are
well protected) Preheat the oven gas mark
6, 400 F. Cover the baking dish tightly either with its own lid or
with a large piece of aluminium foil. Bake, covered, for 1 hour 30
minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Baste 3-4
times with the sauce during this period. Scatter, or arrange in a
pattern, the sultanas and the 1/2 oz. almonds over the top of the leg
and bake for another 5-6 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the
oven and let it sit in a warm place for 15 minutes. Take the leg out
of the pan and set it on a warm platter. Spoon off
all the fat from the top of the sauce. Use a slotted spoon and fish
out all the whole spice in the sauce. Discard the spices. Pour the
sauce around the leg. My Notes: I served the sauce separately, in a
gravy boat. It is delicious!

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