A twist on Eid with Le Meridien

Braised lamb shank

Ingredients

Plain (all-purpose) flour, as required

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, as required

10 pieces lamb shanks  

1 piece onion    

1 piece carrot   

1 piece celery stick         

1 piece leek       

125ml olive oil  

Few sprigs of rosemary 

Few sprigs of thyme       

3 tsp tomato paste         

2 litre beef stock             

2 piece small bulbs of garlic, broken into cloves, skins intact         

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F/Gas 2-3). Season the flour with sea salt and lightly coat the lamb shanks with the flour, and shake off any excess. Dice the onion, carrot, celery and leek into 1cm pieces.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy base frying pan and seal the shanks well on all sides, transferring them to a large flameproof casserole dish when they brown. Add the diced vegetables, garlic and herbs to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until golden. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes, then spoon the mixture over the meat.

Add enough stock to cover and bring to the boil. Cover the dish with a lid or foil then transfer to the oven and bake 1 – 11⁄2 hours, or until the meat is tender and pulls away from the bone. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the stock.

Meanwhile, to roast the garlic, put the garlic cloves on a sheet of foil, drizzle generously with olive oil and fold up loosely. Place on a baking tray and roast for 30-40 minutes until tender. Set aside until required.

Carefully remove the lamb shanks from the stock. Strain the stock, discarding the vegetables, and pour into a saucepan. Boil uncovered, over high heat until reduced to a rich, glossy sauce.

Tandoori chicken fresh herb salad

Ingredients

1kg chicken leg boneless             

50g tandoori masala      

250g yoghurt natural     

50g cumin powder

30g coriander powder  

150g mustard oil              

40g garlic paste                

30g ginger paste              

20ml white vinegar        

20ml lemon juice             

50g Kashmiri chilli powder          

10g salt

10g black pepper, crushed          

25g coriander leaves     

25g chaat masala             

20g mint leaves

100g onion slices             

200g tomato julienne    

200g cucumber julienne               

50g spring onion, chopped         

200g mixed bell pepper

Method

First marinate the chicken legs with ginger, garlic, lime juice, salt, pepper, tandoori masala, white vinegar, yoghurt, cumin powder and mustard oil. Mix all properly and keep in the freezer for about 4 hours. Remove the chicken from the freezer and cook in the oven at 180°C for 20 minutes. Take out the chicken and julienne it once it is cold, and mix with the remaining vegetables and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with fresh herbs.

Zafrani murgh hawa mahal

Ingredients

2kg boneless chicken chunks      

300g butter       

200g gram flour               

70g salt

30g pepper corn              

400g cheddar cheese grated      

12 eggs for coating         

180g onion ring, shredded          

80g green chilli chopped              

100g ginger garlic chopped         

500g sour yoghurt          

50g chaat masala             

30g lemon salt  

Method

Marinate the chicken chunks with ginger garlic paste, lemon, and salt and mix together. Keep in a warm place 1 to 2 hours after that. Heat butter in a pan, add gram flour, crushed pepper and salt and cook it till it is half done, set aside.  Skewer the chicken chunks into a tandoor seek, mix egg and cheese and saffron, and apply over the chicken. Sprinkle the chops with coriander and cook until golden in colour over a tandoor. Apply butter, chat masala and chopped coriander, and serve with mint chutney or spicy tomato chutney and mix vegetable salad.

Recipes: Austen Reid, Executive Chef, Le Meridien Dhaka.

Photo courtesy: Le Meridien Dhaka.