This method employs dry cooking in the oven – either in a roasting tin or in a sealed container or foil ‘packet’. For wonderfully tender meat, choose a clay or terracotta ‘brick’ which effectively creates a clay oven within your oven. As the oven heats, steam condenses in the pot, basting the meat in its own juices. The end result is moist, tender, full of flavor and naturally cooked with no extra fat. This dish involves sautéing juicy, tender lamb with fragrant spices. Raw spices often require the application of heat to bring out their best qualities. It is important to know that shallow frying or dry frying releases essential oils and helps to intensify flavor. Try this dish using lamb rump, fillet, cutlets or loin. A stewing cut is not suitable as the cooking time and method for the meat is quite short. Shallow frying or dry frying spices until just aromatic, intensifies flavor and color and begins the process of cooking out, as with a roux, which is necessary to avoid a gritty texture.
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