Looking for a traditional Arabic dish to serve up this Ramadan? You can’t go far wrong with the classic lamb shank machboos.
Here, chef Osama Alakhras from the Levantine Restaurant at the Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas has shared his version of the recipe.
Ingredients:
For the rice
2kg basmati rice
500g peeled tomato, chopped
500g red onion, chopped
50g chopped garlic
300g tomato paste
100g machboos spice mix
3 dried limes
100g ghee
40g salt
3.4L boiling water
For the lamb shank:
2kg lamb shank
500g fresh tomato, peeled and chopped
500g red onion, chopped
50g chopped garlic
300g tomato paste
100g machboos spice mix
3 dried limes
100g ghee
3L water
40g salt
Method:
1. Soak and wash the basmati rice for one hour.
2. In a medium-sized pot, add the ghee and the onion, garlic, salt, bay leaves, dried lime and sauté. Then add the tomato paste and chopped and peeled tomato, before adding the machboos spice mix and sautéing until you can really smell the aromatics.
3. Add the 3.4 litres of water and boil it. Strain the rice and add it to the boiling stock before cooking it for nine minutes.
4. Next, marinade the lamb shank with three tablespoons of spice mix, and three tablespoons of tomato paste, salt, and a little sunflower oil.
5. Sauté and caramelise the onion with ghee, add 100g of mix spice, dry lime, then sauté again, add 300g of tomato paste, sauté again, add the peeled tomato, cook it until the tomato is completely cooked. Add the water.
6. In another pan, add some sunflower oil to sear the marinated shank, and to give it some colour. Keep it aside.
7. In a gastro container, arrange the lamb shank, add the stock, and cover with aluminum foil. Cook the shank at 140°C for three hours in the oven.
8. To assemble your dish, start by adding the rice to the plate, then place the lamb shank on top and finally, garnish with chili, spring onion and coriander leaves.
