Step 1

The day before you want to serve the dish, score the leg of lamb with a sharp knife, making deep cuts in crosses on both sides, and set aside.

Step 2

In a spice grinder, or pestle and mortar, grind the cumin, coriander seeds, black peppercorns and cardamom together. Put the spices into a large bowl, and add the yoghurt, garlic, ginger, almonds, lemon juice, chilli powder, ground cinnamon and salt.

Step 3

Rub the marinade on to the lamb and into the grooves, then transfer to a large polythene food bag or a casserole dish and cover. Leave in the fridge overnight.

Step 4

The next day, around 3 hours before you want to serve the lamb, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/ gas 4.

Step 5

Transfer the lamb to a deep roasting tray, pour 125ml of water into the tray and loosely cover with foil. Cook for 2¼ hours for lamb that is pink in the middle, and 2½ hours if you like it more

Step 6

well done.

Step 7

Forty-five minutes before the finished cooking time, add the unpeeled shallots to the pan and lightly drizzle with oil. With 20 minutes to go remove the foil so that the lamb browns nicely. Take the meat out of the oven, cover with foil and rest it for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

Step 8

Some great accompaniments to this are my spinach with black pepper, garlic and lemon (see page 179), roasted cauliflower with cumin, turmeric and lemon (see page 191), mint and yoghurt chutney (see page 219) and naan bread (see page 199).