Shakriyah

Lightly brown the lamb in half the oil in a large pot until golden. Add the onion, pour in 1500 ml water, bring to a boil and skim off the foam.

Add the bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, black peppercorns and 1 tsp salt. Cover and simmer over low heat for 75–90 minutes, until the lamb is tender.

Strain the broth, set the lamb aside, and discard the onion and whole spices. Measure out 500 ml of the hot broth for the yogurt sauce.

In a cold pot, whisk together the yogurt, egg, cornstarch and 1 tsp salt until smooth. Place over medium heat and whisk constantly for 10–15 minutes, until the mixture thickens and just barely begins to simmer.

Pour the hot broth into the yogurt mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Add the lamb and simmer over low heat for another 10 minutes, being careful not to let it boil hard.

To finish, heat the remaining oil, add the minced garlic and dried mint, and fry for 30–40 seconds until fragrant. Drizzle this garlic oil over the shakriyah.

For the side dish, rinse the rice, fry the vermicelli in a little oil until golden, add the rice, 500 ml water and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over the lowest heat for 15–18 minutes. Serve the shakriyah hot alongside the rice.