This isn’t one of my favorite Indian recipes, but it is one of my favorite recipes that I can make reliably. The yoghurt marinade helps make these lamb skewers nice and tender, but since they’re on skewers, they cook quickly and they’re easy to eat. And they’re delicious! These are all bonuses, in my book.
If you’re cooking your skewers in the oven or on a medium-hot grill, adding chunks of onion between the chunks of meat adds a nice bit of extra flavor.
This is an adaptation of a recipe intended for a whole, butterflied leg of lamb. Both are excellent, but you'll want to add an extra tsp of salt if you're using this marinade on a whole leg.
- 2-4 lbs boneless leg of lamb, cubed
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 - 2 tsp ground red pepper, to taste (I use 1tsp)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3/4 cup yoghurt
- 2 tbsp blanched almonds, crushed (optional)
- 2 tbsp pistachios, crushed (optional)
- 1/4 tsp saffron strands
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Cut leg of lamb into 1 - 2 inch cubes.
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Combine ingredients except yoghurt and saffron. Rub mixture over lamb pieces.
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Soak saffron strands in 2tbsp hot water for ten minutes, then mix saffron, water, and yoghurt.
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Pour yoghurt mix over lamb. Marinate over night.
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Thread the meat onto metal skewers.
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I like lamb that is medium rare but nicely charred on the outside, so I prefer a very hot BBQ, where I cook the skewers for about 3 minutes and then flip them and repeat on the opposite side. Wide metal skewers help ensure that the middle gets some heat, and keep the meat from spinning when you try to turn them over.
