Shuwa recipe

Lamb rubbed with an Omani spice paste, wrapped in leaves and roasted a full day in a sealed sand pit.

1 day and 12 hourshard12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 2500 g lamb shoulder
• 2 dried lime
• 8 cardamom
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 2 tbsp coriander
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 nutmeg
• 10 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 6 banana leaves
• 2 tbsp salt

How to make Shuwa

1. Understand first that real shuwa is buried in a sealed sand pit over juniper embers for 24 to 48 hours. You cannot reproduce that at home: what follows is the authentic marinade and the closest oven version, and the smoke of the pit will be missing.
2. Grind a paste from 8 crushed cardamom pods, 2 tbsp of cumin, 2 tbsp of coriander, 1 tsp of cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, half a grated nutmeg and 2 crushed dried Omani limes, then blend with 10 garlic cloves, 2 tbsp of vinegar, 2 tbsp of oil and 2 tbsp of salt.
3. Score 2.5 kg of lamb shoulder to the bone and rub the paste deep into every cut.
4. Cover and marinate 24 hours in the fridge.
5. Wrap the lamb in dried banana leaves, then in a cloth sack soaked in water, and tie it tight.
6. Set the bundle on a rack in a deep tray with no water underneath. Shuwa roasts in its own juices and is never boiled or submerged.
7. Seal the tray with two layers of foil and cook at 120°C for 10 to 12 hours, until the meat falls off the bone.
8. Unwrap over a bowl to catch the juices, pull the meat apart and serve it on rice cooked in those juices, with Omani rukhal bread.

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