Persian Mutton Roast and Saffron Dill Rice

Persian Mutton Roast is a delicious and flavorful. This is not the authentic Persian dish but inspired from here . I found the advieh, Persian spice mix very flavorful and unique. Succulent and flavorful meat with exotic flavors is something that is hard to resist. It has exotic spices like cardamom, pepper, dried rose buds and saffron. But the star ingredient is pomegranate molasses.It makes the meat moist,flavorful, slightly tart and mildly sweet. You can buy this in grocery stores or make your own by boiling down pomegranate juice into a thick syrup consistency. Try this roast recipe, you will surely love it.

Ingredients
Mutton shoulder chops- 2 ( or 3/4 kg mutton )
Tomato puree- 1 cup
Onion chopped- 1 large
Garlic- 5 cloves
Pomegranate molasses- 3 tbs
Paprika- 1 tbs
Coriander powder- 1 tbs
Dry black lemon- 1 or juice of half lemon
Rose water- 1 tsp
Salt to taste and oil

Spice mix- make into fine powder
Clove- 5,cardamom- 5, cinnamon - 2 inch thick piece, black pepper- 1 tsp
nutmeg- a pinch.cumin-a pinch, dry rose buds- 4
Saffron- a pinch

Saffron Dill Rice
Basmati Rice- 2 cups
Onion chopped- 1 medium
Garlic- 1 clove
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Green chilly-2
Dill chopped- 3 tbs
Chopped Almonds- 3 tbs
Chopped dried apricots- 1/4 cup (chopped)
Saffron- a pinch
Bay leaves-2, cloves- 3, cardamom-3
Butter- 1 tsp

To make the rice- Heat butter in a pan. Saute bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, chopped almonds, apricot and saute for a minute. Add chopped onion,garlic,chopped dill and green chilly. Saute till onion turns golden brown. Add turmeric, salt and washed rice and stir till the oil gets coated on the rice. Mix soaked saffron and 4 cups of water. Cover and cook the rice till it is done and all the water is absorbed. Use a fork to make the rice fluffy.

To make the roast
Make a fine powder of the spice mix.Into this add pomegranate molasses, crushed garlic, rose water, paprika , coriander powder and salt and mix well. Marinate the mutton with this spice paste and set aside for at least two hours.
Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion. Saute till translucent .Add the meat and cook meat till one side changes color to slight brown. Flip over and continue cooking. This searing will enhance flavor of the meat. Pour the tomato puree, dry lemon and 1/3 cup of water. Check salt and cover and cook for 10 minutes till the gravy thicken. Transfer to oven and cook at 350 degree for another 30 minutes or till the meat is tender and falls from the bone.

Serve this with dill rice