Spiced lamb shanks with potatoes recipe

Indian-spiced lamb shanks by Nici Wickes. Photo / Todd Eyre

Best paired with potatoes and naan.

Lamb shanks so often get the herby, tomato treatment but I’ve switched it up with these Indian-spicy shanks paired with potatoes as opposed to rice, naan (love a double carb!) and a minty lettuce salad.

Spiced lamb shanks with chaat potatoes recipe

Serves 1-2

Lamb ingredients

1 lamb shank, per person

1/3 cup plain yoghurt

1 heaped tsp each turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander

1/2 tsp each ground ginger and cinnamon

1/4 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

Potatoes ingredients

1-2 medium potatoes per person, chopped up

2 tbsp cooking oil or ghee

1 onion, sliced thinly

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ground coriander

To serve ingredients

Few handfuls of shredded icebery lettuce

Small handful of mint leaves

Squeeze of lemon juice

Handful fresh coriander

Store-bought naan or chapati – warmed

1/4 cup plain yoghurt for drizzling

Indian chutney (Jenny’s Tamarind Chutney is good)

Method

1. Heat oven to 170C.

2. In an ovenproof dish, that will fit the shanks quite snugly, mix the yoghurt with the spices and roll each shank in this marinade. Leave to sit overnight, or at least 15 minutes, then cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 1.5 hours. The marinade will curdle a bit, that’s the yoghurt, but don’t worry it’s still yummy. Shanks are ready when they fall easily away from the bone.

3. While shanks cook, par-boil potatoes in salty water. Fry onions in oil in a pan until golden then add in the spices and cook for 2 -3 minutes. Add in drained potatoes and cook it all up until potatoes are crispy and cooked through.

4. Serves shank(s) alongside spiced potatoes, warmed naan and some lettuce tossed with mint leaves and lemon juice. Drizzle it all with yoghurt, chutney and some fresh coriander. Eat up!

Note:

I don’t have an air fryer but given they’re essentially just a small fan-forced oven I don’t see why these shanks wouldn’t work in one. Start with browning the shanks for 20 minutes (180C perhaps) then cook for 30-45 more, turning halfway through.