This is a super easy and delicious Roast leg of lamb recipe or simply Raan roast AKA mutton leg roast. The recipe is simple, the trick in making raan roast is the soft melt in the mouth meat. Read forward to check the tips sections.
Updated: 6 March 2021
Tips for making soft Lamb or mutton leg roast:
Choice of meat:
The most crucial ingredient in this recipe is the mutton leg itself. Meat from very old or mature goats is tough and difficult to tenderize. The same is true for wild mountain goats. Getting meat from a younger goat (but at least 2.4 years old not kids) can be helpful. While this is butchers' job who know the right meat for roasting, the how to buy mutton in a video on the Good House Keeping website might be helpful.
Tenderise:
A great step for flavorful soft and juicy meat without using commercial tenderizers is marination. We are using lemon juice and yogurt as natural meat tenderizers. Give the mutton leg a good 12-16 hours of marination. And you have soft yummy lamb leg to enjoy. Lamb or mutton leg is called raan in Urdu. In this post, both terms are used interchangeably.
Masala Raan Roast Marinade:
- For this mutton leg, I made a spice mix that you can be made a few days ahead too. This spice mix is for Pakistani Masala Raan.
- If you are in hurry and don’t want to make this spice mix. Use either raan masala or Indian curry masala. (Salan masala).
- If you wish to play around with the recipe, add some personal touch you can also add these to the spice mix.
Optional ingredients for raan spice mix.
- 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
- ½ tablespoon fennel seeds (sauf)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Cooking time:
Cooking time can greatly depend on the type of meat. While frozen and meat from young lamb cook quickly compared to fresh and older lamb. I use the slow cooking technique and checking at intervals. Cook until meat is very tender but coming off the bone.
If the lamb leg fits in your pressure cooker, you can pressure cook too. I recommend cooking for 25 minutes in a pressure cooker or follow user manual instructions. Do not over-cook.
Roast Leg of Lamb/ Mutton/ Raan Recipe
Prepare Spice Mix
Heat a pan and dry roast cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and red button chiles for 30 seconds. Now, also add powdered spices that are red chilli powder, whole spice powder, and salt. Roast for 2-3 seconds and transfer to a food processor.
Grind spice in to a fine powder.Pass spice mix through a fine sieve.
Grind the remains in a sieve a second time. Sieve the spice mix once more and discards the remains now.
Spice Mix is read. (See 'Tips' above the recipe card for more information and variations.)
Marination:
In the spice mix bowl, add yogurt, ginger, garlic, and lemon juice. Mix well and set aside.
Wash Lamb/Mutton Leg thoroughly and remove excess fat. Pierce the leg all around with a fork. Pierce should be deep. Rub the spice mix paste all over the mutton leg and marinate it overnight for 8-12 in the fridge.
Next day, add two cups of water and mutton leg in large pot and cook on medium heat for 2-3 hours. Check at the interval of 30 minutes or as needed. Adjust heat and water as needed. Flip the mutton leg once or twice while cooking. Mutton should get very tender.
Mutton is ready and most of the water has dried. (If you like a little gravy and cooking it pot, do not dry all water.)
In a bowl, take tomato ketchup, cream and gravy from lamb. Mix well. (You can also add chili garlic sauce instead of ketchup if you like spicy food.)
If Baking: Just before serving transfer mutton leg to a baking tray if baking and cover the leg with ketchup, cream sauce. Also preheat the oven at 300 F.
If cooking in pot: Simply pour ketchup cream gravy in pot and mix well.
Heat oil in a small vessel and add all ingredient of tempering. Cook for 1 minute on medium heat. Then pour tempering over the mutton leg.
So here is the raan roast covered with sauce and tempering. (Note: Add half cup water in the tray so mutton leg doesn't burn from the bottom and it will also keep the raan moist.)
If cooking pot: Cover pot immediately after adding tempering. Simmer raan for 5-7 minutes low heat until thoroughly heated. Then serve. ( You may add a cup of water if you like moist and juicy raan.)
Baking Mutton leg at 300F for 5-7 minutes until toasted. (Add about a half cup of water to the tray.)
So that how yummy the Lamb's leg or raan roast turns out.
Hungry for Lamb? Check these recipes!
Mutton Leg Roast | Raan Roast
Ingredients
Spice Mix
- 6-8 whole round red chillies
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Marination
- 1½ kg mutton leg
- 4 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- ½ cup yogurt
Gravy
- ⅓ cup cream
- 3 tablespoon chilli garlic sauce or ketchup
Tempering
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 3 green chillies
- 12 curry leaves
- ½ cup water , to spread over baking tray
Garnish
- Onion rings
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
Spice Mix:
- In a pan roast round red chilli, coriander and cumin seed for 30 second until fragrant.
- Add red chilli powder, all spice powder and salt. Give it a stir and transfer to a food processor.
- Grind mixture into a fine powder. Pass the powder through a seive and grind the remains once again. Seive again. Then discard the remains.
- Spice Mix is ready.
Marinate:
- Mix spice mix, lemon juice, ginger, garlic and yogurt in a bowl. Set aside.
- Wash the mutton leg thoroughly, and leave the leg in colander to dry.
- Poke the leg all around with a fork.
- Then apply spice mixture throughly all over the leg.
- Cover with cling wrap and store in fridge over night. (8-16 hours)
- Next day, cook the mutton leg in wide pot with 2 cups of water. Keep the heat on medium low and cover the pot tightly to seal the steam.
- The mutton leg will take 2-3 hours of cooking time. Keep checking at intervals of 30 minutes and adjust heat as needed.
- When mutton leg is absolutely tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Mix chilli garlic sauce, cream and remaining gravy from mutton leg in a bowl and cover all over the mutton leg.
Tempering:
- In a pan heat oil and add chopped garlic. When garlic is golden add cumin, chillies and curry leaves. Let all crackle then pour tempering evenly over mutton leg.
Cook on stove:
- Heat raan throughly on stove for 7-10 minutes on medium heat and then serve onion slices and lemon wedges.
Cook in oven.
- Preheat oven at 300 F. Transfer raan with gravy over a baking tray. Add little water if there is no gravy in tray.( The water in tray will stop the gravy from burning.) Bake mutton leg for 10 minutes until roasted. Serve with lemon wedges, onion rings and chutneys.
Nadia says
Hello,
I will be making this over the weekend, I plan to bake it instead of the stove top. Mutton leg is around 5 pounds. Could you please let me know the cooking time and temperature?
Thank you!
Mariam Sodawater says
Hey Nadia, thanks a lot for trying my recipe. Place into oven and roast at 350 degrees F until it reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees F for well done, about 2 hours and 15 minutes to 2 hours 45 minutes, or until the desired doneness. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing.
Zakia says
Hi maryam
Maryam i have marinated this lamb according to ur recipe. Tomorrow i will bake it in oven. Do i have to add some meat tenderizer or bakjng soda .or lamb will be tender in oven by covering foil paper?
Kindly help.
Mariam Sodawater says
You don't need a tenderizer if the meat of a young animal and the lamb leg weight is under 2 kg. Lemon and yogurt both are natural tenderizer. Hope this helps, please share your feedback. It will be helpful for readers.
Mehreen Kisat says
Hi Mariam! I have marinated using the recipe and planning to cook tomorrow. If I want to bake completely instead (not do the stove portion), do you have thoughts on temperature and time?
Thanks!
Mehreen.
Mariam Sodawater says
Hi Mehreen, the baking time depends on the weight of the lamb leg. So if it weighs 1.5-2 kg. The cooking time in the oven should be 4 hours covered. Wrap your raan in butter paper then wrap further in the foil. So moisture is entrapped while hazardous aluminum foil doesn't touch the food. Keep the upside (meaty side) facing down on the rack. Once the raan is tender, bake it uncovered and 15 mins or more uncovered for browning. Pre-heat oven at 335 F or 150 C. I hope this helps. Do share your feedback.
Sonia says
Turned out amazing !
Mariam Sodawater says
Thanks a lot for the lovely feedback. I'll really be glad if you could leave a 5-star rating on this recipe.
Shabnam Arora says
Hi i want to try this recipe ¹bit am confused, what is all spice? You list it in your ingredients
Thanks so much
Recipe 52 says
Hi Shabnam, all spice is garam masala.
Shabnam says
thank you
jenny says
Tried this recipe today and it turned out amazing. Super delicious, instead of lamb leg I used shoulder…..plate clean
Recipe 52 says
Thanks a lot Jenny for leaving a lovely feedback. I’m really glad you liked it.
Nauman Qureshi says
Great recipe, came out really well everyone enjoyed it on Eid day. Keep sharing your recipes with us. Is there a special web page that you have. Kindly let me know.
Thanks
Nauman
Recipe 52 says
Hi Nauman, I’m so glad it turned out good and your family enjoyed it. Eid Mubarak!
Thank for the motivation. I’m not sure what do you refer as web page. I assume you found us through a referral link. Here’s my website address where I share all my recipes. Recipe52.com
Umm-e-Aimen Taaha says
Tried this recipe today and it turned out amazing. Super delicious, instead of lamb leg I used shoulder.....plate clean 🙂
Recipe 52 says
So glad to hear from you. I love shoulder chops, it must be yum. Thanks for sharing feedback here.