Guest recipe by Emberz executive chef Simon Henry

Serves 6

Ingredients

Lamb

1.5kg Blue Sky Butchery boneless lamb shoulder
15ml canola oil
Salt and pepper
3 large onions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp allspice
250ml beef stock
1 t turmeric
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
3 cloves garlic crushed
Kitchen string

Lentils

1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
15ml canola oil
1 cinnamon stick
1 t turmeric ground
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t ground ginger
¼ t chili flakes
1 c red lentils, rinsed and drained
400g tin crushed tomatoes
375ml chicken stock

Thick plain yoghurt
Olive oil
1 t fresh mint leaves, chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Season the lamb and tie into a cylinder shape using kitchen string.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the lamb on all sides, then transfer to a baking dish. Add the onions to the pan, season and cook for 5 minutes. Add all the spices and the garlic and cook out for a further 2 minutes, adding a dash of water if the pan is too dry.
3. Stir in the stock and bring to the boil. Pour the contents of the pan over the lamb. Cover the meat with a piece of baking paper then cover tightly with a lid or use tin foil. Braise for 3 hours, turning the meat over halfway through the cooking process. Test the meat with a fork, it should pull apart easily. If it doesn’t, cover again and continue to braise for a further 30 minutes.
4. Heat the second measure of oil in a medium sized saucepan, add the sliced onions, cinnamon stick and season well with salt, cook out until the onions are tender. Stir in the garlic and all the spices and cook out for a further 2 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, and the stock and adjust the seasoning. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for 20-25 minutes until tender, stirring often to prevent sticking to the base of the pot.
5. Place the yoghurt into a serving bowl, drizzle over the olive oil and scatter with mint leaves.

Place the braised lamb onto a serving platter. Tilt the baking dish, using a spoon or ladle skim off any excess oil from the top of the onions and sauce. Spoon the onions over the lamb and serve with the lentils. Serve with the yoghurt.