Ingredients

• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 50g/2oz fresh root ginger
• 50g/2oz garlic
• 2-3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1.25kg/2lb 12oz cleaned lamb shoulder or leg (kept whole)
• 2 x 2.5cm/1in pieces cinnamon (or casia bark)
• 3-4 green cardamom
• 2-3 cloves
• 3-4 black peppercorns
• 2-3 large dried red chilli
• 3 medium onions
• chopped
• 250g/9oz chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• plus extra for seasoning
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 heaped tbsp fresh coriander
• 3-4 large baking potatoes
• peeled and roughly chopped           Â
• 1 tbsp butter
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• finely chopped
• 1 dried red chilli
• shredded
• 250g/9oz fresh spinach leaves
• coarsely shredded
• 2 medium eggs
• 75ml/3floz double cream

Directions

• For the shepherd's pie filling
• preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1.
• Place the cumin and coriander seeds into a dry frying pan on a low heat and toast them until they change colour slightly
• then remove from the pan.
• Grind the spices
• ginger and garlic together in a spice grinder to a fine paste
• adding only as much water as is necessary to make it into a paste.
• Heat a large oven-proof casserole dish until medium hot
• add the oil and continue to heat until a haze forms.
• Add the lamb and brown well on all sides until the meat is well sealed.
• Remove the lamb from the pan and set aside
• then add the cinnamon
• cardamom
• cloves
• peppercorns and the red chillies broken into pieces
• to the pan.Â
• Fry the spices for 1-2 minutes until the cloves swell a little. Add a little water to the pan to deglaze it
• scraping up any meat residue and dissolving it in the water.
• Add the chopped onions and cook until the liquid evaporates
• then gently fry the onions until soft
• about 4-5 minutes.
• Add the spice paste and cook for 5-6 minutes mixing well then return the lamb to the pan.
• Coat the lamb with the mixture then season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper
• and cover the pan.
• Place the pan into the oven and cook for 2- 2 ½ hours
• stirring the casserole occasionally and making sure the onions do not catch on the bottom of the pan.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and mix well (add a little more water if it looks dry) then cover and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
• Check that the lamb is cooked - the meat will have retracted from the bone and the meat will feel soft to the touch.
• Lift the lamb out of the casserole and place onto a tray to cool slightly.
• Carefully remove all the whole spices from the gravy in the casserole and discard.
• When the lamb is cool enough to handle
• shred the meat off of the bone and place back into the casserole with the gravy.
• Place back onto a medium low heat and cook until the gravy has thickened nicely.
• Add the freshly chopped coriander
• check the seasoning
• and spoon into an oven-proof dish
• big enough that the filling reaches 2cm/1in from the top of the dish.
• For the topping
• place the potatoes into a saucepan and cover with water
• bring to the boil and simmer until tender.
• Drain
• return the potatoes to the pan and back on the heat to drive off any extra moisture.
• Pass the cooked potatoes through a ricer (or mash them to a smooth puree) and set aside.
• Place the butter onto the board with the cumin seeds
• then finely chop the two together.
• Heat a frying pan and add the cumin butter and gently fry until the cumin colours gently
• but don’t heat it too much or the butter will burn.
• As soon as the cumin changes colour
• lift out the seeds and add to the potatoes
• transferring as little butter as is possible.
• Add the chopped garlic and chilli to the butter in the frying pan and gently fry for one minute.
• When the garlic is light golden-brown
• add the spinach leaves
• toss for a minute or so until soft
• season lightly then remove from pan and place straight onto the dish of shredded lamb
• spreading evenly over the top.
• Mix the cumin seeds into the potato with the eggs and cream and mix well until smooth then check the seasoning.
• Spread the potato over the spinach evenly
• ruffle the surface a little
• it doesn’t have to be smooth
• just evenly spread.
• Place back in the oven for 10 minutes then increase the oven temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and cook for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
• To serve
• spoon a dollop of pie onto a serving plates
• and serve with some crusty bread or steamed rice.