Spicy lamb and date chutney - serve with roti or as samoosas

Serves 6

1,5 kg leg of lamb or substitute with four whole lamb shanks

For the spice paste

15 ml coriander seeds

15 ml cumin seeds

6 cardamom pods

10 ml anise seed

10 ml ground cinnamon

30 ml olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

20 ml crushed garlic

20 ml freshly grated ginger 

45 ml garam masala

125 ml buttermilk

Combine the spices in a mortar and grind with a pestle until fine. Discard the husks of the cardamom pods. Alternatively, use an electric grinder to grind the spices.

Heat the oil in a medium pan over medium heat and fry the onion, garlic and ginger until soft and translucent. Add the spices and the garam masala and mix through.

Combine the onion and spice mixture with the buttermilk in a food processor and process until a smooth paste forms. Alternatively, use a stick blender to blend the mixture into a paste.

Rub the paste all over the leg of lamb and leave to marinate for at least three hours or overnight.

For the roasting

1 x medium oven bag

Salt

2 cinnamon sticks

2 bay leaves

6 – 7 curry leaves

45 ml warm water

Preheat the oven to 150 °C.

Season the lamb with salt.  Place the leg of lamb with the marinade into the oven bag. Add the cinnamon, bay leaves and curry leaves. Pour the water in and tie the bag closed. Place in an oven tray and roast in the oven for three hours until cooked and falling off the bone.

Remove from the oven bag and serve with roti, date chutney and 2019 Leopard's Leap Shiraz or use our recipe below and make samosas!

Date and red wine chutney

5 ml pimento

10 ml whole coriander

2 star anise seeds

1 cinnamon stick

30 ml olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

30 ml crushed garlic

10 ml freshly grated ginger

1 Granny Smith apple – peeled, cored and cut into cubes

250 g pitted dates, chopped

5 ml salt

500 ml Leopard's Leap Shiraz 

Add the dates and season with salt. Add the wine and reduce the heat, cook for twenty minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a sterilised jar. Serve with the spicy lamb or samosas.

Samoosas with leftovers 

Pull the meat from the bone and fill samoosas with it. Take eight samoosa pastry strips and place a heaped tablespoon of the lamb at the bottom right hand corner of each samoosa strip.

Fold the pastry over itself in triangles the way you would fold a flag. Use some beaten egg to seal the last seam.

Deep-fry the samoosas in 500 ml sunflower or canola oil until golden and crispy. Serve warm with the date chutney and 2018 Leopard's Leap Shiraz.