Soma Sengupta Easter Recipes: Spicy Roast Lamb With Classic Indi - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon chili powder or 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon jeera powder (ground cumin)
1 tablespoon sweet paprika or 1 tablespoon hot paprika
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
1 leg of lamb, bone in, 8-to-10-pound
1 cup dry red wine or 1 cup lamb stock
5 -6 fresh green chilies
Classic Indian Mint Sauce
2 cups chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup chopped mint
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finelygrated
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon green chili pepper, chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice

Preparation

Place the dry spices in a small fry pan & toast briefly, about 1-2 minutes to awaken the flavors. Place the toasted spices in a small mixing bowl & add the olive oil, chopped garlic, honey & sea salt. Mix well to form a paste & rub in on all sides of the lamb leg. Refrigerate & marinade overnight.
The next day about an hour before cooking, remove lamb from refrigerator and let stand.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the lamb leg in the center of a roasting rack and place the rack in the roasting pan. Cook in center of oven for I hour. Use an instant-read meat thermometer and take the temperature of the thickest part of the leg meat. Your meat thermometer should read about 118 degrees F. If it does not, watch carefully and continue to cook until the temp reads just 118 degrees F. Remove the lamb from the roasting pan to a flat surface to rest.
For mint sauce: Blend all ingredients in a blender until semi-smooth.
For jus: Pour off as much of the fat as you can from the bottom of the roasting pan. Put the pan on top of a burner on your stove. Start a low heat under the pan and when the drippings begin to sizzle, pour in the wine or stock and add the fresh chiles. Simmer, scraping the pan to release solids, for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, taste and adjust seasoning. Pour over the leg of lamb.