Raan simply means leg, and a raan is the whole leg — of goat, or lamb where goat is hard to find — cooked entire as the show-off centrepiece of a Mughlai feast. The method is all patience: the leg is scored to the bone, given a two-stage marinade of dry-roasted spice and then a thick yoghurt coat, tenderised with raw papaya, left overnight, and finally slow-roasted or sealed and cooked on dum for hours until the meat gives way under a spoon. Goat is the classic choice precisely because it is tough — the long, low cooking is what turns sinew to silk — and the dish’s modern benchmark is the raan served at the Dum Pukht kitchen of ITC in Delhi. It is brought to the table whole under a saffron-almond gravy, strewn with fried onion, slivered almonds, mint and pomegranate, and carved there with sheermal or pulao. This version follows the cookbook author Maunika Gowardhan, whose raan musallam adapts the feast to a home oven and a leg of lamb — an English-language record made for a corridor table.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 whole bone-in leg of lamb (about 1.5–2kg, scored deep)
- 2 tbsp raw (green papaya paste)
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1½ tsp salt (for the first marinade)
- 6 tbsp thick (Greek-style yogurt)
- 3 large onions (finely sliced)
- 4 tbsp ghee
- 3 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp ground almonds
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp salt (for the gravy, plus more to taste)
- a pinch of saffron (soaked in 3 tbsp warm milk)
- 1 tbsp rose water
- slivered almonds (fried onions, mint and pomegranate seeds, to garnish)
METHOD
- Score the leg deeply all over, then rub with the papaya paste, ginger-garlic paste, lemon and salt, working it into the cuts; rest 1 hour.
- Fry the sliced onions in the ghee and oil until deep golden, set half aside, and blend the rest to a paste.
- Mix the onion paste with the yogurt, ground almonds, Kashmiri chilli, coriander, cumin, garam masala and salt, and coat the leg all over; cover and marinate overnight.
- Bring the leg to room temperature, then sear it briefly on all sides in a hot pan.
- Transfer to a deep dish or sealed pot, pour over any marinade, the saffron milk and rose water, cover tightly (foil and lid, or a dough seal), and cook in a 160°C oven (or on the lowest hob heat over a tawa) for 2½–3 hours until fork-tender, basting once or twice.
- Uncover for the last 15 minutes to colour the surface.
- Rest the raan 20 minutes, loosely covered.
- Set it whole on a platter, spoon over the pan gravy, and garnish with fried onion, slivered almonds, mint and pomegranate; serve with sheermal or pulao.
