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I was given this traditional Arabic recipe from a true master of Arabic home cooking. I have a long way to go before making it to the same standard, but we all have to start somewhere! You will need a large saucepan with a lid for the rice and either a slow cooker or oven bag for the lamb. Ideally, you want to prepare the lamb the night before so it can sit in the ingredients overnight, but if this isn’t possible, as early as you can before any cooking begins. I also garnished the lamb with parsley (see photo) before serving, but this is not part of the original method and will be omitted below. Enjoy.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the lamb:

• 1kg of lamb shoulder
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 tablespoons of cumin
• 3 tablespoon (or several sprigs) of thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the rice dish:

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, grated
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tin of chickpeas
• 4 gloves of garlic, crushed
• 3 cardamom pods
• 2 cups of basmati rice
• 3 cups of lamb broth (taken from the lamb dish)
• 3 teaspoons of cumin
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 medium orange
• Salt and pepper to taste

Lamb Method

1. Slice into the lamb about half an inch in a crosshatch pattern across the top, this will increase the surface area exposed to the other ingredients and also help cook throughout (see image).
2. Rub the cumin, salt and pepper all over the lamb, including through the cuts you have just made. Wedge the garlic slices equally through the cuts and then top with the thyme. Put in the fridge overnight of possible.
3. Cook the lamb. There are two methods for this:
   1. Slow Cooker Method – Put in a preheated slow cooker and top with the onions. Add a dash of water and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
   2. Oven Bag Method – Add the lamb to the oven bag with the sliced onion and put in a preheated oven at 220 degrees for half an hour, then drop the temperature to 150 and cook for a further 2 hours.
4. Once the lamb is cooked, turn the oven off or slow cooker to warm and allow to rest while you make the rice dish. You will need the stock from this dish before you start.

Rice Method

1. Add the oil, carrots, garlic and onion in a large saucepan on a medium-high heat and cook for a few minutes until all ingredients are soft. Do not let the onion brown.
2. Add the cumin, salt, pepper, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods and allow to cook for a further few minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and chickpeas and mix together. Allow a further 5 minutes to bring the whole mixture to a simmer.
4. Add the stock* and the rice, mix well and cover. Once the whole mixture starts to boil, give it one last mix to keep the bit touching the bottom from sticking, then cover and turn the heat down to low. Leave on low for 30 minutes.
5. Allow to rest off the heat for a further 15 minutes before serving.

*Each cup of rice needs one and a half cups of water to cook properly. If you don’t have enough stock from the lamb to make up enough, be sure to top up with hot water. Equally, do not put more stock than you need to or the final product will be too liquid-y. As a general rule of thumb, there should be no rice exposed above the surface once everything is it the final stage, but it should be just below the surface. If you have any stock left over at this point, you can pour some over the lamb just before serving.