The Mughal celebration roast — the marinade works overnight so the oven barely has to
Raan is the roast northern India brings out when something is worth celebrating: a whole lamb leg worked over with yoghurt, ginger, garlic and warm spice, left to marinate until the flavour has gone all the way in, then roasted low until it barely needs carving. The yoghurt does something clever while you're not watching — it tenderises gently, without the harshness of a citrus-heavy marinade, so the lamb turns silky rather than stringy. Give it the hours and it hands you the most impressive dinner your oven cooks all year.
Ingredients
- 1 Your Farmer grass-fed lamb roast (approx 1.5kg, leg or shoulder)
- 200g plain Greek-style yoghurt
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, finely grated
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (or 1 tsp sweet paprika + 1/2 tsp chilli powder)
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tsp salt
- 125ml water
- 1 tbsp ghee or butter, melted
- 1 red onion, very thinly sliced
- Handful fresh coriander leaves
- Lemon wedges, to serve
- Steamed basmati rice or warm naan, to serve
Instructions
For the marinade
Stir the yoghurt, garlic, ginger, all the ground spices, lemon juice and salt into a thick, brick-red marinade.
200g yoghurt4 cloves garlic2 tsp garam masala2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powderCut deep slashes all over the lamb, then work the marinade into every cut and across the whole surface. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (overnight is optional and better still).
1 lamb roastFor the roast
Take the lamb out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead. Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan-forced). Sit the lamb in a snug roasting dish with any marinade still clinging, pour the water around it, cover tightly with foil and roast for 2½ hours.
125ml waterUncover, brush the lamb with the melted ghee, turn the oven up to 190°C (170°C fan-forced) and roast a further 30–40 minutes, basting once, until the crust is deep burnished red-brown.
1 tbsp gheeRest under loose foil for 20 minutes. It's ready when a fork twists easily in the thickest part — this roast goes well past pink on purpose.
Carve or pull into generous chunks, spoon over the pan juices, and scatter with red onion and coriander. Serve with lemon wedges and basmati rice or warm naan.
1 red onioncoriander leaveslemon wedgesAppears in
Lamb Share A only — Roast (~1.5kg)
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A Roast Fit for a Feast
Raan comes from the Mughal courts of northern India, where a whole marinated leg of lamb was the centrepiece that told guests the occasion mattered. The technique that made it famous is the one doing the work here: a yoghurt marinade. Yoghurt's lactic acid tenderises slowly and gently — unlike strong citrus or vinegar marinades, it won't turn the surface of the meat mushy even over a long sit, which is exactly why this one can go overnight. The Kashmiri chilli is there for its colour more than its heat; it's what gives the crust that deep celebration red without frightening anyone at the table. The deep slashes aren't decoration either — they're the traditional route for getting the marinade to the centre of a thick cut, and they set into flavour-holding crevices as the crust roasts. The cut underneath is the roast from a Your Farmer® pasture-raised lamb share — grass-fed lamb with enough of its own character to stand up to a spice cupboard's worth of flavour, delivered across NSW and the ACT.
Swaps and Variations
Coconut yoghurt makes an honest dairy-free stand-in — it carries the spice just as well. If the barbecue's already going, the whole roast finishes beautifully in a hooded barbecue set up for indirect heat at the same temperatures. Cooking for spice-wary kids? Halve the chilli powder; you'll lose a little colour and almost no flavour, because the backbone of the dish is the garam masala, ginger and garlic. A cucumber raita — yoghurt, grated cucumber, pinch of salt — is the traditional cooling partner and takes three minutes to make.
Storage and Leftovers
Keep leftover lamb in its pan juices, covered, for up to 3 days in the fridge, or freeze it the same way for up to 3 months. Reheat gently, covered, in a 160°C oven with a splash of water so the spice crust doesn't dry out. The finest second act: fold chunks of lamb through fried basmati rice with peas and a spoonful of the juices for a shortcut biryani, or roll it into warm naan with yoghurt and the last of the red onion. Either way, it's arguably better on day two.
Frequently asked questions
How spicy is it?
Can I marinate it for longer than overnight?
Can I cook it to medium instead of fork-tender?
Can I finish it on the barbecue?
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