Sajji Raan

Hello people!

I am back after a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time and this time its gonna be a yummy, lip-smacking, fingerlickin' flavors of Balochistan, an arid, desert and mountainous region on the Iranian plateau in south-western Asia, northwest of the Arabian Sea near the Persian Gulf. It mainly includes southwestern Pakistan, southeastern Iran and a very small section of southwestern Afghanistan

What I have in mind to share with you is something not many people know of... a dish called Sajji.  It can be made using either Chicken (Murgi) or a leg of Lamb (Raan).  I made this with a leg of Lamb, and trust me, it was awesome!



PREP TIME : 24-28 Hours
Cooking Time: 4 Hours

INGREDIENTS: (Serves 6-8)
Whole leg of Lamb (2 to 2 2 1/2 kg)
Salt 6 tbsp
Garlic paste 2 tbsp

Sajji Masala:

Anardana (Dried Pomegranate Seeds) 2 tbsp
Dry Coriander Seeds 2 tbsp
Cumin 2 tsp
Black pepper 2 tsp
Black Cardamom seeds ½ tsp
Black salt ½ tsp
Salt ½ tsp

METHOD:

First of all wash the whole leg and apply salt on it very well in all directions and refrigerate it over night.  

For the Sajji Masala, dry roast the ingredients in a pan and pound to a fine powder.

Then next day dip the leg in water to rinse off the salt and then rub it with crushed garlic and a bit of salt for 1 to 2 hours. Be careful with the quantity of salt used the second time round, since the meat would have become salty with the first round.

Traditionally, this is done around a fire, which when burning would be ringed with the legs of Lamb threaded on skewers and stuck in the ground vertically and then rotated in a timely fashion to ensure browning all around for the time taken for the meat to be cooked through, to the bone.

Since it is not possible for everyone to have a fire lit up for that long a time, it can easily be cooked in an oven. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C, and bake it at 180 to 250 deg C until both sides are brown and the meat is cooked (internal temperature 175 deg C).
 

Sprinkle the Sajji Masala on the Leg of Lamb (Raan in local parlance) and serve with plain or Butter Naans.

Unfortunately, when I made this, it was at a farmhouse and we were too drunk to remember clicking any photos.  Use everyone's friend, Google, or your preferred search engine for an image search using the words "Sajji Raan" and ye shall be enlightened.