Recipe: slow-roasted lamb shank saag with fresh mint leaves

Saag is often made with lamb cubes (or goat in India). It’s a vibrantly coloured curry sauce consisting of spinach leaves, or other bitter leaves, and spices. The lamb shanks are fall-off-the-bone tender after being slow-roasted, and are delicious in the fragrant sauce.

THE FLAVOUR COMBINATIONS

30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil

5 lamb shanks

2 onions, peeled and finely diced

3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 green chillies, finely chopped

15ml (1 tbsp) garam masala

seeds of 4 cardamom pods, finely ground

2,5ml (.5 tsp) ground cloves

5ml (1 tsp) ground cumin

5ml (1 tsp) ground coriander

1L (4 cups) lamb/beef stock

800g fresh baby spinach

125ml (.25 cup) fresh cream

salt and feshly ground black pepper, to taste

fresh mint leaves, to garnish

HOW TO DO IT

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. In a large casserole dish, heat the olive oil over high heat and brown the lamb shanks in batches, if necessary, turning to ensure all sides brown evenly, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pot and set aside.

2. Turn the heat to low, add the onions and garlic to the pan and fry until the onions are soft and translucent, 10 minutes. Turn the heat to medium, add the ginger, chilli and spices and fry, 2 minutes.

3. Remove the dish from heat and add the lamb shanks and stock. Place the lid on the casserole dish, or cover it tightly with foil, and place in the preheated oven to slow-roast until the meat falls off the bone, 6 hours.

4. When the shanks are ready, remove them from the dish and set aside for a moment. Reserve half of the liquid in the pot, discarding the other half. Bring the liquid to a boil on the stove, add the baby spinach and cook, 3 minutes. Remove from heat and blend the spinach mixture to form a smooth, green sauce. Stir in the fresh cream and season well to taste.

Serve the lamb shanks in the sauce, garnished with fresh mint leaves.

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