#Title

Whole mutton leg roast with baked vegetables
Ingredients
For the first marinade—
½ tbsp salt
½ cup lemon juice
½ cup onion Juice
½ cup ginger juice
½ cup garlic juice
1 tbsp coarsely crushed black pepper
½ tbsp coarsely crushed white pepper
A fistful of fresh mint leaves (no stalk, only leaves)
For the second marinade—
Mix well the following ingredients together.
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp chaat masala powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp (optional) sheek kebab masala powder
½ cup yoghurt, beaten
5 tbsp mustard oil
6 tbsp vegetable oil
½ tbsp (half) salt
Vegetables —
5 medium sized potatoes and 5 carrots (other preferred roots or vegetables can be used as well) Wash, peel and cut into 1½-inch chunks. Also take 15 cloves of garlic and 10 small peeled onions.
Method
Take 1 whole mutton leg. Wash, clean, and stab it with a ‘knife and fork’ all around. Place the whole leg in a large bowl.
Mix the ingredients for the first marinade in a bowl. Crush the mint leaves roughly with hand and mix with the mixture. Pour half the mixture over on side of the leg, then flip the leg, and pour the rest of the mixture. Rub the marinade on the leg for 2-3 minutes to make sure the mixture reaches deep inside the stabs/incisions made on the meat earlier. Marinate for at least 2 hours in a fridge.
Next, take the ingredients for the second marinade, and mix. Now pour half the mixture over on side of the leg, then flip the leg, and pour the rest of the mixture. Massage/rub the marinade on the leg for 2-3 minutes to make sure the marinade reaches deep inside the stab/incision made on the meat earlier. Marinate for at least 2 hours in a fridge.
Take the leg out of the fridge, and scrape of excess marinade off the leg. Leave the excess marinade for later use. Keep the leg aside. Take a large frying pan. Pour enough oil to fry half the leg at a time.
Fry both sides to golden brown. Take the leg out of the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Make deep cuts/incision (10/12) into each side of the leg; Take a clove of garlic, wrap a few coriander leaves (including stalks) and completely shove it inside each of the deep cuts.
Keep aside and prepare the vegetables.
Next, grease a large, deep baking pan with oil. Put the garlic cloves, peeled onions, chopped carrots and potatoes at the bottom of the pan. Put the leg on top of the vegetables and top it with the gravy mixture. Cover it with aluminium foil and bake at 200° C for 2 hours in an oven. Approximately 45 minutes for every 500g of meat, so, if the leg is 1 kg, then bake for 90 minutes, if the lamb leg is 2 kg then bake for 180 minutes).
After 2 hours, remove aluminium foil, reduce the temperature of the oven to 180° C and let it bake for 10 minutes, flip the leg, bake for another 10 minutes. Take the baking pan out.
Remove the leg from top of the vegetables. Let it rest on a grill placed over a plate so that the excess liquid inside the meat comes out. Let it rest.
To make the gravy, remove the carrots and potatoes from the liquid left on the baking tray. Now transfer the liquid, along with the garlic and onions into a blender and process until smooth.
Take a deep pot, transfer the blended gravy into the pot and start cooking on medium heat. Taste and add seasoning if required. Add 1 tablespoon of corn flour dissolved in ¼ cup of water into the gravy. Keep stirring until the mixture reaches desired consistency. Once the consistency is correct, turn off the heat. Take the gravy and pass it through a sieve while still hot. Add 2 tablespoons of butter in the hot gravy and keep stirring until the butter is dissolved and the gravy is ready.
To serve, place the leg in the middle of a large serving dish. Surround with the vegetables. Put a cube of butter on top of the leg. Sprinkle fresh coriander leaves to garnish. Serve with the gravy on the side.
By Arshia Idris Talha
Photo and Food:Arshia Idris Talha
Arshia Idris Talha likes taking part in recipe competitions as they encourage her to become better at what she does every single day. She runs a catering service, Arshia’s Rasoi.