Ghuzi

Ingredients

Lamb

• 1lamb shoulder or leg, about 2.5 kg

Rub

• 3 tbspbaharat
• 1 tbspground turmeric
• 1 tbspground cumin
• 1 tbspground coriander
• 4 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 2 tbspghee
• 1 tbspsalt
• juice of 2 lemons

Rice

• 750 gbasmati
• 2onions, sliced
• 4cardamom pods
• 1cinnamon stick
• 4cloves
• 2dried limes, pierced
• 1 tspsaffron, soaked in warm water
• 1.2 litreslamb stock
• ghee, for frying

Garnish

• 100 gflaked almonds
• 100 gpine nuts
• 100 graisins
• ghee, for frying

Directions

1. Mix the rub and massage it into the lamb, working it into every crease and under the flap of the shoulder, then leave it overnight.
2. Sit the lamb on a rack over a deep tray with a little water in the bottom.
3. Cover the whole tray tightly with foil, sealing it well at the edges.
4. Roast at 160°C (320°F) for 4 hours, still covered.
5. Covered and slow first, uncovered and hot at the end. Lamb sent straight into a hot open oven dries at the surface long before the shoulder gives up.
6. Meanwhile soak the basmati for 30 minutes and drain it.
7. Fry the onions in ghee until deep gold, then add the whole spices and the pierced dried limes and fry for a minute.
8. Pierce the dried limes. Whole and unpierced they contribute almost nothing, but pierced they release the sour, faintly fermented citrus note that makes this taste of the Gulf rather than of India.
9. Add the rice, turn it in the fat, pour in the hot lamb stock, cover, and cook for 12 minutes, then rest it off the heat for 10.
10. Trickle the saffron water over the rice in streaks rather than stirring it through, which is how the yellow and white marbling is made.
11. Fry the almonds, pine nuts and raisins separately in ghee until the nuts are golden and the raisins have puffed.
12. Uncover the lamb, raise the oven to 220°C (430°F), and roast for a further 20 to 25 minutes until the surface is dark and crisp.
13. Heap the rice on a large platter, lay the lamb on top of it, and scatter the nuts and raisins over everything.
14. It goes to the table on one platter and is eaten with the right hand from the communal dish, which is as much the point as the cooking is.

Technique

• It is the same dish as Iraqi quzi and Emirati ouzi, with the spellings shifting along the Gulf.
• The full version is a whole lamb cooked in a pit oven, and a shoulder is the domestic scale of it.
• The dried limes belong in the rice, not on the meat, which is where their sourness is wanted.

Substitutions

• A whole chicken, roasted for 1 hour 30 minutes, for a smaller table.
• Ground dried lime, half a teaspoon, if you cannot find whole loomi.

Variations

• Quzi, with the lamb cavity stuffed with the rice and nuts.
• Madfun, cooked buried in a sealed pit.
• Mandi, cooked over embers in a pit so the smoke flavours both meat and rice.

History

Whole lamb roasted and laid over spiced rice with nuts and raisins for celebrations.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ghuzi?

Ghuzi is a main from Qatar: roast lamb over rice with raisins and nuts. Whole lamb roasted and laid over spiced rice with nuts and raisins for celebrations.

How long does Ghuzi take to make?

Ghuzi takes 40 min plus overnight marinating of preparation and 4 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 to 10 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Ghuzi?

Yes, within limits. A whole chicken, roasted for 1 hour 30 minutes, for a smaller table. Ground dried lime, half a teaspoon, if you cannot find whole loomi.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ghuzi?

Cover the whole tray tightly with foil, sealing it well at the edges.