This is the name of a wonderful recipe book I received for Christmas in 2016 in Bahrain from my good friends Nina and Ian Parkinson. They had traveled and worked across this region and knew I liked travel and cooking so thought it was the ideal gift and they were right. The first dish I cooked from it was Mountain Jew Omelette which I included in my 2018 Recipe calendar. This was so popular we later turned it into an on line recipe book which you can read by clicking in the link below ( and it also features on this weeks The British Kabayan Facebook page where Chester is sharing the 12 recipes one week at a time)
So first , some background, what is Samarkand? Well according to the book "for centuries the fabled city of Samarkand has been a magnet for merchants, travelers and conquerors"
They also give a quote:
"In all other parts of the world the light descends upon earth. From holy Samarkand and Bukkara, it ascends " Local saying
Source: Samarkand, recipes and stories from Central Asia and the Caucasus by Caroline Eden and Elanor Ford. Publisher: Kyle Books 2016
According to our friends at Wikipedia:
" Samarkand is a city in Uzbekistan known for its mosques and mausoleums. It's on the Silk Road, the ancient trade route linking China to the Mediterranean. Prominent landmarks include the Registan, a plaza bordered by 3 ornate, majolica-covered madrassas dating to the 15th and 17th centuries, and Gur-e-Amir, the towering tomb of Timur (Tamerlane), founder of the Timurid Empire."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samarkand ( accessed 7.11.2020)
Enough of the history, I wanted to tell you about my favourite recipe from the book which I made in October, we froze and ate one Friday in November. Corleen voted it his third favourite dish of mine after Manok and Baboy Adobo, and my Cambodian Cashew Chicken. High praise indeed. Even Jake cleared his plate ( normally he takes half his lunch home for dinner) and said the Lamb just melted in his mouth.
So may I present:
Roast Lamb with a sticky Pomegranate Glaze
Before we start a warning, this dish takes a long time to prepare, which is why it tastes so good. You need to remove the Lamb from the fridge for two hours before you start, then it has to Roast for 4 hours, so you need to start your preparations at least 6 hours before you want to eat!
The lamb is left at room temperature for two hours then you cut slits in the side and insert pieces of garlic like so....
Then take 3 red onions and slice them thickly and place in the bottom of a roasting pan and place the meat on top
Next you mix the glaze of pomegranate, honey, oil, chili, coriander, cinnamon, cardamon and salt and pepper and pour this over the lamb.
I learnt something new when making this from my Pinoy houseboy Jake, who showed me how to get the Pomegranate seeds out...
You just turn it over and bang it on the bottom with a wooden spoon- works every time, right Jake?
Finally you put silver foil over it all and put it in the oven for 4 hours. Then take the foil off and cook for another 30 mins. By then the meat had fallen off the bones and was so tender and tasty. We served ours with roast potatoes and peas and all agreed it was so Masarap!
Until the next time - Ingat Palagi, Mahal kita and Kita kits
The first of our new recipe blog footers created by Chester Delos- Santos
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Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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