A showstopping, full flavored, tender Raan Roast that gets rave views! Make it with Lamb or Goat for an easy impressive festive main!
Some dishes wow - you know, like a beautiful Nihari, a multi layered Singaporean Rice, or that perfectly glistening Caramel Custard. Some of them require a little doing (Singaporean Rice, I am a looking at you).
This Mutton Raan does all the wowing, but with very little doing. There's a reason your mother and her friends all made it for their Eid dawats!
Not convinced? Just imagine yourself carrying a large dish to the table, a magnificent succulent spiced roast in the middle, the juiciest potatoes scattered around it, a sprinkling of cilantro perfuming the air. Sold right?
If you are looking for Eid Recipes then I got you there too, just click here. Now let's get back to this dish shall we...
What kind of meat can I buy for the Mutton Raan Roast?
A Raan is technically a goat leg and that's what I used here. However, in the years since I have posted the recipe this recipe has been made countless times over by readers with lamb and to utterly delightful effect.
Just fyi, in Pakistan the average Raan is approx. 1.5-2kg, the smallest raan my butcher in Canada carries came in at 3.5 kg. at 3.5kg a Raan can easily feed a dozen people, maybe ten if they're big eaters.
If that is too much for you then you can also scale the recipe down and purchase a Mutton Shoulder instead or any other cut your butcher recommends.
Will this Mutton Raan have a smell?
In Urdu there is a word called "heek". It refers to that unpleasant smell/taste that food can have, where it smells not quite right, like something is off. This folks is a heek free situation. The masala that goes into this Mutton Raan is rich and it perfumes the meat quite beautifully.
However, since I like to leave nothing to chance I recommend that you squeeze half a lemon over your mutton raan before adding the garnishes.
Can I make this Mutton Raan in an Instant Pot?
I love my IP just as much as the next person, but here it just is not big enough. If you get a smaller roast piece then you absolutely could, but since cook time varies by size I can't estimate it here.
Why I cook my Raan in the oven
For three reasons
1.) It fits in a roasting pan a lot better than it does in most pots. If you have a large pot and a large gas burner then you can absolutely cook it stove top. Cook it stovetop on medium low heat until tender, but not totally soft. Add potatoes and let it all cook together.
2.) Frees up the stove for other cooking (or not) - If I can avoid committing my favourite burner (you know you have one) to a dish then I will.
3.) Slow roasting produces an ultra tender roast
The Big Question: What do I serve with a Mutton Raan?
A star like a Raan needs only a supporting cast
- a simple chana pulao.
- a green raita/chutney
- some hot naan or sheermaal
Made this Raan? Have a question? Comment below and share your recreations with me on Instagram @flourandspiceblog - Happy cooking!
Mutton Raan
Equipment
- Roasting dish
Ingredients
- 3.5 kg Mutton Raan/Leg (smaller quantity marinade in notes)
- 4-5 Potatoes Sliced into thick (2 cm) rounds
Marinade
- 2 cups Yoghurt
- 2.5 tbsp Ginger Paste
- 2.5 tbsp Garlic paste
- 1 tbsp Salt (plus one more teaspoon)
- 1.5 tbsp dry roasted cumin powder
- 1.5 tbsp dry roasted coriander powder (see notes)
- 3 tbsp garam masala powder
- 3 tbsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp green chilli paste (or mince in 8 green chilies)
- juice of a lemon
Instructions
- Place your muton piece in your roaster and use a sharp knife to score deep cuts into your roast
- Mix your marinade ingredients together (if you are the masala tasting sort like me then it should be a strong flavour)
- Rub the marinade all over your mutton and marinade covered and in the fridge overnight at a very minimum and up to three days. If you can then flip your roast over once and baste with the marinade.
- Remove the raan from the fridge an hour before you will roast it to allow it to come to room temperature for more even cooking.
- Preheat your oven to 350F and bake the raan covered with foil for 2 hours. At this point if you pierce it with a fork it's cooked through but now completely tender. Use a spoon to baste it with the masala
- Scatter your potatoes along the sides and bake covered for another half an hour, then remove the foil and allow it to bake until the potatoes are fork tender (usually 20 minutes or so more). The mutton meat should be absolutely tender by now
- Squeeze over lemon juice, sprinkle over chaat masala and serve topped with fresh minced cilantro. Pomegranate kernels are always a plus.
Marium says
Omggggg this looks incredible.
Sadeqa says
Can I make this in an electric oven? If yes, do I open just the bottom or the top and bottom? Sorry if this is a stupid question 🙈
Sarah Mir says
Not a stupid question at all! So you can make this in any oven with both elements and the temperature set a little lower than in this recipe here. let me know how it turns out!
Afsheen says
We made this last night for our chand raat/ pre-eid dinner with friends and OMG! So good!
This is was our first time making desi-style raan and it definitely won’t be the last! As always, thanks for a perfectly detailed and delicious recipe! Eid Mubarak! ❤️
Sarah Mir says
I am SO THRILLED to hear you enjoyed and honoured to be part of your chand raat table - thank you Afsheen!
Anam says
Hi can I make it in the instant pot and how much time should I pressure cook it for?
Sarah Mir says
Hi there Anam! Honestly the raans I usually get are way too big for an IP so I am not sure about either the timing or the amount of liquid you'd need and I don't want to lead you astray!
Arbind Bhatia says
Hi Sarah,
Quick question- I plan on precooking in oven and after wanted to put it on the BBQ grill to get that charred flavor similar to putting in a tandoor. What do you think? Any advice??
Sarah Mir says
So sorry I am just seeing this, but I think that would work! Let me know if you wound up trying it!
Fatimah Khalid says
Ive tried this recipe multiple times and it is always perfect!
Thankyou so much Sarah ♥️
Sarah Mir says
Thank you SO much Fatimah!!1
Nadia says
It was a show stopper ! Thank you for the fantastic recipe. I used lamb instead of mutton and it weighed 3 kg but I had to cook for much longer - about 4.5 hours in all. Marinated for about 20 hours. Does cooking decrease if marination time is longer ?
Sarah Mir says
Hi Nadia! THRILLED to read this, thank YOU! cooking time seems to vary a fair bit but yes you are correct that marination time impacts cooking time!
Humnah says
Mine turned out so dry! I was disappointed, I followed all the steps.
Sarah Mir says
Hi Humnah! I am so sorry to hear that! Between the marinating, the slow cooking, the check ins, and the basting with the liquid that shouldn't happen. Thank you so much for letting me know though - would you mind sharing how big the piece was and how long you cooked it for?
Ravi says
Thank you Sarah for the recipe - I appreciate both the recipe itself and how it was written. I tried it today with a 2.8lb goat shoulder and it turned out really well. The only deviation from the recipe was that I wrapped it tightly in rotis and then in foil, and baked it for 2 hrs @350F. The meat was falling off the bone and succulent!
Tess says
Wow!!!!! That sounds delicious. Was it naan roti?
Ravi says
Thank you Sarah for the recipe - I appreciate the recipe itself and how it was written. I tried it today with a 2.8lb goat shoulder and it turned out really well. The only deviation was that I wrapped the meat tightly in rotis and then in foil, and baked it for 2hrs at 350F. The meat was falling off the bone and succulent.
Sarah Mir says
Ravi you just blew my mind with roti trick! Thank you for sharing that and for rating the recipe - I am so so glad you enjoyed it!
Rubina Khan says
Hi there is no drizzling of oil here. Can I drizzle some olive oil along with the marinade?
Anisa says
Excellent, excellent, excellent recipe, as all of yours are! Thank you Sarah - this was a huge hit! I used lamb instead of mutton but marinated it for two days and baked it for three hours. Came out perfect with zero heek.
Sarah Mir says
Oofh thank you thank you!
Aisha H says
Hi! The recipe looks amazing! Planning on making it a little ahead of time. If I leave it covered at 200 F after it's done, would that dry the meat out too much? What would be the best option to keep it warm and not dry out? Thanks for your reply!
Sarah Mir says
Aisha! I am so sorry, in the last few days I lost track of comment replies but if you make it ahead and just warm it in the oven that's fine, there is tons of juice in the bottom so just baste, add a little melted butter in a pinch if needed and serve!
Malika Sheikh says
Hi Sarah,
I wanted to make mutton (goat)raan for a very long time but was sceptical about it. The pics were so tempting,Finally I tried yesterday on Bakrid and it came out amazingly tasty. And I loved the potatoes taste. Baked for 3 hours or so. Thank you so much 😊
God bless you.
Sarah Mir says
Thank you thank you thank you! This is so wonderful to read!
Mariam says
Just made this today! Sadly, the yogurt split so the raan didn't look as pretty. Any way to fix that for the future?
Sarah Mir says
Hi Mariam! Thanks for trying this! For the yoghurt to split is perfectly natural if your raan marinade isn't fully at room temperature when the raan goes into the oven. Cold yoghurt + high temps= yoghurt splitting. That said, if you baste it with the masala and then broil for just a minute you can get some colour on the top for prettier visuals. What did you think of the flavours?
Dra says
Sarah, or Ravi
If I wanted to wrap it in roti first, should the roti be cooked or uncooked?
Sarah Mir says
Hi there! I am so sorry, but I am not familiar with that method of making raan enough to guide you there!
Dra says
So I wrappped the Raan with rotis and aluminum foil, and followed your directions, came out finger licking good.
Thanks again for this wonderful recipe!
Sarah Mir says
that is fabulous to know - thank you!
Marisa Batool says
Hey! Made it in the Instant Pot and turned out great. Yes I ended up overcooking it but turned out juicy, tender & delicious! Also, incredibly easy!
Sarah Mir says
Your descriptors have me wishing I was at your place when you made it!! thanks for the review!