Leg Of Lamb, North Indian Style
- 1 large onion, peeled
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 inch-long piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds (if you have pods, crush and remove seeds)
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 3-inch-long cinnamon stick
- 10 black peppercorns
- 2 dried small red chilies, or 2 teaspoons dried red chili flakes, or to taste, optional
- 1 butterflied leg of lamb, 3 to 4 pounds
- Salt
- Combine onion, garlic and ginger in food processor and grind to paste.
- Press through fine strainer to extract liquid; discard liquid.
- Toast spices in small skillet over medium heat, shaking frequently until aromatic, about 3 minutes.
- Grind in spice mill or coffee grinder until very fine.
- Trim lamb of fat; sprinkle with salt.
- Combine spices and onion mix, and rub over meat.
- Poke small holes in lamb and stick some of the mixture into each one.
- If time allows, fold meat in half, wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for a day.
- Start charcoal or wood fire or heat gas grill or broiler; fire should be quite hot, and the rack at least 4 inches from heat.
- Grill or broil until nicely browned, even a little charred, on both sides, about 20 minutes, until internal temperature at the thickest part is about 125 degrees.
- Some will be rare, some nearly well done.
- Let rest for 5 minutes and slice thinly.
onion, garlic, ginger, fennel seeds, cardamom seeds, cloves, cumin seeds, cinnamon, black, red chilies, lamb, salt
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/7664 (may not work)