Oven-Roasted Lamb with Middle Eastern Spices

👨‍🍳 Method

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Mix the baharat, cumin, paprika, turmeric, salt and black pepper and coat the lamb with the mixture.

   Bowl
3. 3
   Heat the olive oil in a large cast-iron pan and brown the lamb on all sides.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveCast-iron pan

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
4. 4
   Add the onion, garlic cloves, tomatoes and water to the pan.
5. 5
   Bake tightly covered with foil 90 minutes, until the lamb softens.

   ⚙ BakingOvenAluminum foilBaking pan

   💡Shoulder is rich in connective tissue: only long, covered baking, in the steam of the liquids in the pan, makes it tender. The cover comes off only at the end, for browning.

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
6. 6
   Bake without the foil 30 minutes, until the lamb is browned, tender and falls apart easily with a fork.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan
7. 7
   Serve the lamb with Rice.