🍖 Shuwa (Omani Slow-Roasted Lamb)

Name: Shuwa (Omani Slow-Roasted Lamb)
Total time: 300 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Oman
Ingredients: 1.5 kg lamb shoulder or leg, cut into large pieces; 8 garlic cloves; 2 tbsp ground cumin; 2 tbsp ground coriander; 1 tbsp chili powder; 4 tbsp vinegar; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; Banana leaves for wrapping; Salt to taste

Origin: Oman

555kcal

per serving · 250 g

222kcal

per 100 g

55 gProtein22 g / 100 g

35 gFat14 g / 100 g

5 gCarbs2 g / 100 g

Shuwa is Oman's celebratory dish of lamb rubbed with a paste of garlic, cumin, coriander, chili and vinegar, wrapped in banana leaves and slow-cooked in an underground sand pit for a day or more. The meat comes out smoky and so tender it falls from the bone. It is shared at Eid gatherings, usually with rice.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Keto-friendly2 g carbs per 100 g

✓

High protein22 g protein per 100 g — 40% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: lamb

Not veganbecause of: lamb

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.

What it is made of

lambgarliccumincorianderchili peppervinegarbanana leaf

Recipe

6 servings300 min

Ingredients

1.5 kg lamb shoulder or leg, cut into large pieces
8 garlic cloves
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp chili powder
4 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Banana leaves for wrapping
Salt to taste

Method

Pound the garlic with cumin, coriander, chili, vinegar, oil and salt into a paste.
Make deep cuts in the lamb and rub the paste in well; marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Wrap the meat tightly in banana leaves, then in foil.
Cook in a covered dish at 150 °C for 4–5 hours (or in a traditional pit) until the meat falls apart.
Unwrap and serve with the cooking juices.

How to make it lighter

Trim visible fat from the lamb before marinating.
Choose leaner leg meat over shoulder for a lower-fat portion.
Serve with a large salad and a modest scoop of rice to balance the plate.

History

Shuwa is a festive tradition in Oman, where families and villages prepare it together, especially for Eid al-Adha, often cooking the meat in a communal pit. The method of sealing spiced meat in leaves and burying it with hot coals is passed down as part of Omani holiday custom.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Shuwa (Omani Slow-Roasted Lamb) and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

Download on the App Store

Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →