Diced lamb, and which bit to dice

Shoulder or leg?

Diced shoulder has fat running through it, so it stays tender in anything that cooks for an hour or more. Diced leg is leaner and gives neater cubes, which suits tikka, skewers, or a dish where you want clean pieces of meat. Roughly: 2 to 3cm for tikka, about 4cm for curry and stew.

Bone in or out?

Boneless is quicker to eat and easier for children. Bone-in pieces give a richer sauce, and plenty of cooks won't make karahi or biryani any other way; for those, see lamb shoulder. A good middle road is mostly boneless with a few bony bits thrown in for flavour.

Getting it tender

Brown it in batches, not all at once, or it stews in its own juice. Then onions, masala, a splash of water, lid on, and keep it at a lazy simmer rather than a boil. Boneless lamb usually needs about an hour. It's ready when a piece breaks up under a spoon. For tikka, marinate for 2 hours at least, overnight if you can.

Curries and stews for diced lamb

• Lamb rogan josh Kashmiri-style lamb, slow-cooked in yoghurt with Kashmiri chilli, fennel and ginger until the sauce is deep red and the lamb falls apart. 2 hrWarm
• Palak gosht Lamb on the bone cooked down with onions and tomatoes, then folded through a big pile of spinach. Comforting, green and good for you. 1 hr 25 minWarm
• Lamb tagine with apricots Lamb shoulder slow-cooked with warm spices, chickpeas, apricots and honey until meltingly tender. A North African feast from one pot. 2 hr 35 minWarm
• Daal gosht Lamb on the bone and chana daal simmered together into a thick, hearty curry. A little meat goes a long way. 1 hr 30 minWarm
• Chopan kebab The Afghan shepherd's kebab: chunks of lamb with a little fat, seasoned simply with salt, pepper and onion, and grilled over high heat. 35 minMild
• Mutton qorma A rich, dark qorma of mutton on the bone with deeply browned onions, yoghurt and whole spices. The dish for a wedding or an Eid table. 2 hr 20 minWarm

How much to buy

We dice it while you wait, any size you like. We're at 44 Kilmarnock Road, Shawlands, Glasgow G41 3NH.