Shoulder of lamb Navaran

Ingredients
Serves 6-8
50g butter
900g British shoulder or leg lamb, cubed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
300ml beef stock
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 bouquet garni
2 bay leaves
450g baby new potatoes, scrubbed
225g baby carrots, trimmed
225g shallots, peeled and left whole
For the herb dumplings:
50g self-raising flour
50g fine breadcrumbs
2 tbsp suet, shredded
Handful parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp rosemary chopped
1 egg.

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180C 350F or gas 4. Melt the butter in a large ovenproof casserole dish and add the meat, salt and pepper. Stir well to brown meat on all sides, then remove and set aside.
Add the sugar to the casserole and brown gently to make a caramel. Return the meat to the casserole, add the stout and stir well.
Add the stock, garlic, tomato puree, bouquet garni and bay leaves and stir well again. Cover and cook for one hour.
For the dumplings, mix the flour, breadcrumbs, suet, chopped herbs, seasoning and egg together and, using your hands, roll into walnut-sized balls.
After one hour cooking, remove casserole from the oven, add the potatoes, carrots, shallots and dumplings and return to the oven and cook for a further 40 minutes. Check the vegetables are cooked and then serve.