I first came across this dish many years ago when I lived in London. My old boss used to live on the same floor as Iqbal Wahhab, owner of the Cinnamon Club in London. He waxed lyrical about the smells that used to come out of his apartment every time he came home.

One dish he recommended was the Lamb Shank Rogan Josh. He lent me the book to try it and I was sold. Fast forward 15 years and it's still a winner.

Adapted from The Cinnamon Club Cookbook.

Step 1 - The worst bit

• Put lamb shanks in a large pot with a lid
• Cover with boiling water, keep the lid on and boil for 20 minutes
• Pull out and set aside until your sauce is ready
• At this point, the smell is not great and the look of the shanks disappoints
• Remember this is a marathon and not a sprint, it just gets better from here

Step 2 - Prep (Do whilst shanks are boiling)

• Crush the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar and remove the husks
• Get cinnamon sticks out
• Puree the tomatoes
• Prep the stock
• Finely chop 3 onions
• Put together the rest of the dried spices in a bowl

Step 3 - The sauce

• In a large pot, melt a large spoonful of ghee
• Add the crushed cardamom and cinnamon until it crackles
• Add the onions, cooking until soft and they start to darken. Don't let them stick
• If they start to dry out and want to stick, add a couple of splashes of water and stir
• Add the spices, stirring and cooking for a few minutes
• Add the tomatoes and salt, cook for 5 minutes
• Add the yoghurt a spoonful at a time, stirring in each time
   

Step 4 - Bring it all together

• Add 250ml of the lamb stock and stir
• Put the shanks in, organising so that they are as flat as possible
• Add more stock so they are almost covered. The amount will depend on the size of your pot. Don't worry if it looks really wet, the stock will be reduced later
• Cut a slice down the chilli and pop it in the pot
• Cover and put in the oven at 160C
   

Step 5 - Long and slow

• Every half hour or so, pull it out and give the sauce a move around
• Make sure the shanks are still well covered
• After 3 hours, remove the lid and pop back in for another hour
• The sauce will start to darken up and reduce a little
• Every so often baste any bit of shank poking out of the liquid. Careful with the shanks as they may start to easily come away from the bone which will spoil the on-bone look if that's what you are after when serving
• When you can put a pointed knife in without much resistance then they are ready
   

Step 6 - The best bit

• Take out the shanks very gently with a large slotted spoon. You want to keep them intact if possible.  Put in a bowl and cover
• Pour the sauce through a sieve, pulling out the chilli and cinnamon sticks
• Add the onions from the sieve back to the sauce and blend
• Put this back in the pot, add a knob of butter to make it shine and for some extra richness
• Serve the shanks, bone up with the sauce liberally poured over
• Dress with some fresh corriander 

I like to serve this with a nice saag aloo, tarka dal and a large naan for mopping up all that delicious sauce

Lamb Shank Rogan Josh

Servers 4

• 4 lamb shanks
• 3 black cardamom pods
• 5 large tomatoes
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 750ml lamb stock
• Ghee
• 3 onions
• 3 tsp garlic powder (can replace with garlic paste, make 6 tsp)
• 3 tsp ginger powder (can replace with ginger paste just make 6 tsp)
• 3 tsp chilli powder
• 3 tsp ground fennel
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp of salt
• 3 tbsp of plain yoghurt
• 1 red chilli
• Fresh coriander to garnish