Lamb shank (Raan Akbari) recipe from award winning chef Anand George

Multi-award winning chef Anand George, from Kerala on the southern coast of India, has become one of the UK's most acclaimed chefs since breaking onto the Welsh restaurant scene in 2007.

Renowned for his pioneering of Nouvelle Indian Cuisine at his famed Purple Poppadom restaurant in Cardiff, Chef George is a constantly innovative presence on the food scene, exemplified by his successful move into street food with Tukka Tuk at Goodsheds, Barry.

Chef Anand George’s debut book titled ‘The 5,000 Mile Journey’ describes his culinary influences spanning his career from India to Cardiff via London and includes over 60 inspired recipes. In 2017 Chef George launched his new travel company - Kerala Chef Tours - a chef guided tour with Anand for a food experience of a lifetime.

A winner of South Asian Chef of the Year, Chef George steered his first establishment in Wales to be included in the National Restaurant Awards’ UK’s Top 100 restaurants. The restaurant has gone on to be named the Best South Asian Restaurant in the UK, and achieve entries in The Michelin Guide and The Good Food Guide.

Portion - 6

• Lamb Shank 450g each – 6pcs
• Salt – 10g
• Onions – 500g
• Tomato – 200g
• Oil –100ml
• Cinnamon – 6g
• Bay leaf – 5 pieces
• Green cardamom – 2g
• Cloves – 1g
• Ginger garlic paste – 50g
• Kashmiri chilli powder – 20g
• Turmeric powder – 10g
• Salt – 8
• Lamb stock – 2litre
• Water – 2litre
• Melted butter – 12ml
• Gram flour – 5g

1. Clean and trim the lamb shank to remove skin and fat. Season with salt and leave for one hour. Wash the lamb shank in running water and drain in a colander.
2. Grind onions and tomatoes to a fine paste.
3. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the cinnamon, bay leaf, green cardamom and cloves and allow them to release their flavour to oil.
4. Now add the lamb shank and saute for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and onion and tomato paste and stir for 7-8 minutes.
6. Now add the lamb stock and one litre of water and simmer the lamb shank with a lid on for an hour.
7. Add one more litre of water and simmer for another hour. The lamb shank should be tender and holding onto the bone.
8. Take the pan off the heat and separate the lamb shank from the sauce.
9. Cover with food wrap and allow to cool. Strain the sauce.
10. Heat the butter in pan, add the gram flour and cook on a low heat like a roux for a minute without burning. Now add the strained sauce and bring to the boil. Check the seasoning and consistency of the sauce.

• Butternut Squash – 1 (450 - 500g)
• Peeled, seeds removed and cubed net weight will be 350-400g
• Oil - 10g
• Salt - 6g

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix the butternut squash cubes with salt and oil and place it in a tray and roast for 15-20 minutes until soft enough to mash.
2. Take off the oven and place the butternut squash in a pan. With the back of a ladle, mash the roasted butternut squash while it is on a low heat. Remove the excess moisture of the mash for another 10 minutes and keep aside.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the tempering.

• Vegetable oil – 20ml
• Mustard seeds – 2g
• Curry leaves chopped – 2g
• Green chilli chopped – 2g
• Ginger chopped – 6g
• Urad dal split – 4g
• Grated potatoes – 400g (base recipe)
• Turmeric powder – 1g
• Salt – 2g

1. Heat the oil in pan and add the urad dal and allow it to brown.
2. Then add the mustard seeds and allow to crackle.
3. Then add the chopped ginger, green chilli and curry leaves. Lower the heat and add the turmeric powder and salt.
4. Now add the grated potatoes and the butternut squash. Mix well, check the seasoning and keep aside. Divide it into 6 portions (90g per portion).

• Glucose – 120g
• Sugar – 120g
• Water – 525ml
• Mint leaves – 50g
• Coriander leaves – 105g
• Whole milk natural yoghurt – 525g
• Garlic – 2g
• Green chilli – 2g

1. Boil the glucose, sugar and water. Cool it down. Mix it with the yoghurt.
2. Pour the above mixture into two Pacojet containers. Divide the coriander leaves and mint leaves into the containers. Finally, divide the garlic and green chilli into the two containers. Freeze for 24 hours and churn in a Pacojet. One container will yield of 15 scoops of mint sorbet.

1. Preheat the oven to 250C, roast the lamb shank for 4-5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 180C and cook for another 4-5 minutes to make it crisp on the outside and still juicy inside. Baste it with clarified butter and chat masala.
2. Reheat the sauce in a separate pan.
3. Plate as in photograph with the mint sorbet, sauce and butternut squash quenelle alongside the lamb

This recipe is © Anand George.