Indian Lamb Curry

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My Favorite Indian Lamb Curry - (video recipe)

This authentic Indian lamb curry is made with lamb shoulder. It's simmered with fragrant spices, caramelized onions, and Greek yogurt until fork-tender. Served over Indian bread or rice, this is a meal on its own.

Today, I bring you another addition to my curry recipes. I have shared a few different lamb curries with you already. And yet, this one is another yogurt-based lamb curry.

About this Indian lamb curry

This is my authentic Indian lamb curry the way mom used to make, with no shortcut. No readymade curry powder and quick cooking methods. If you look at the recipe, you will see every addition of ingredients requires a few minutes of sautéing, caramelizing, and cooking.

One of the secrets to this curry is to cook the onions until they are caramelized. These caramelized onions almost disappear into the sauce leaving their wonderful taste and flavor.

Another important tip for this curry is to use a Dutch oven. This helps cook the meat evenly and without drying out all the moisture, so you won't need to add any additional water as it cooks.

Useful tools and tips

• When it comes to cooking meat, I love to use a heavy bottom saute pan or a non-stick pan.
• It is best to use a non-stick pan for caramelizing the onions so they don't burn easily.
• Also, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir. Indian spices can be strong and leave their natural aroma and color on wooden spoons. So keep one just for Indian cooking.
• You will also need a cutting board for the onions.
• I love to use my mortar and pestle for crushing the whole spices. And yet, you can also use a rolling pin to do that.

Ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)

As you can see this dish is fairly simple in terms of method and technique because what makes this dish a success are the spices.

• Lamb - I prefer to use a lamb shoulder or leg of lamb for this dish. The meat does take longer to cook, but it comes out tender and juicy and absorbs all those wonderful spices.
• Onions - I love to use red onions. They add a bit of sweetness, which is very desirable. It is very important that you cook the onions longer and slower. This will help caramelize the onions, which not just enhances the taste, but also adds that touch of deep red color to this dish (which I love).
• Yogurt - Meat and dairy cooked together have a unique taste. In addition, yogurt also tenderizes the meat and makes it cook faster. I've used Greek yogurt for that rich and creamy taste.
• Spices - There really is no unique spices in this dish. Only coriander, cumin, paprika, and cayenne, which you can find on any supermarket spice rack. You can also use 4 tbsp curry powder if you don't have these on hand.
• Spice mix - The whole spices are used to perfume the dish. If you don't have the whole spices you can use garam masala. This is an Indian spice blend made with warm spices like cardamom, cloves, cinnamon similar to a gingerbread spice mix or pumpkin spice mix. This can be found easily in most supermarkets these days. I make my own and you can find my homemade garam masala spice mix here. 

How to make Indian lamb curry

• In a Dutch oven or heavy bottom skillet, add the oil, ghee, and whole spices.
• Then, add onions and sauté until caramelized, almost brown - about 5 to 10 minutes (see video).
• Next, add the ginger and garlic - sauté another minute.

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• Then, add the lamb pieces, sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until the lamb is no longer pink.
• Then, add the ground spices and chopped tomatoes. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant.
• Next, add the yogurt - combine well. Then, add 1/2 cup water.

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• Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
• Cover and let cook on medium for 1 hour or until the meat is fork-tender stirring every 15 minutes - if necessary, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water to prevent it from burning.

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• Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley.
• Serve with Indian chapati, naan, or rice.

Indian Lamb Curry

Author: Veena Azmanov

5 from 12 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins

Calories: 454kcal

Adjust Servings Here: 8 servings

Description

This authentic Indian lamb curry is made with lamb shoulder. It's simmered with fragrant spices, caramelized onions, and Greek yogurt until fork-tender. Served over Indian bread or rice, this is a meal on its own.

ADJUST SERVINGS HERE - 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 kg (2 lb) Lamb leg or shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 tbsp Oil
• 1 tbsp Ghee or oil
• 2 tbsp Garlic grated
• 2 tbsp Ginger fresh grated
• 3 cups Onions red finely chopped
• 1 cup tomatoes chopped
• 1 cup Yogurt Greek, plain
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice

Dry spices

• 2 Cinnamon stick
• 8 Cloves
• 8 Green cardamoms
• 2 Black cardamoms
• 3 Bay leaves
• 1 Mace (optional)

Spice mix

• 1 1/2 tbsp Coriander powder
• 1/2 tbsp Cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp Cayenne hot
• 1 tbsp Paprika sweet
• 1 tbsp Fenugreek leaves (optional)
• 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder

Instructions

• In a Dutch oven or heavy bottom skillet, add the oil, ghee, and whole spices.
• Then, add onions and saute until caramelized, almost brown - about 5 to 10 minutes (see video).
• Next, add the ginger and garlic - saute another minute.
• Then, add the lamb pieces, saute for 2 to 3 minutes until the lamb is no longer pink.
• Then, add the ground spices and chopped tomatoes. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant.
• Next, add the yogurt - combine well. Then, add 1/2 cup water.
• Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
• Cover and let cook on medium for 1 hour or until the meat is fork-tender stirring every 15 minutes - if necessary, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water to prevent it from burning.
• Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley.
• Serve with Indian chapati, naan, or rice.

Recipe Notes

 

• Use lamb cuts such as lamb shoulder, leg of lamb, or stew meat when making curry. 
• Today, I am using boneless but lamb with bones is ideal for making curry as the marrow in the bones adds more flavor. 
• Cut the lamb into small pieces about 2 to 3-inches each. Large pieces will take longer to cook 
• Cook the onions until caramelized and cook on low to avoid burning. There is a huge difference in flavor when you cook the lamb with just sauteed onions compared to caramelized onions. 
• Do not skip the cooking time after adding each ingredient. Indian curry is about adding layers of flavor so don't make haste. 
• I prefer to use Greek yogurt because it is thicker. If you use regular yogurt you may need to reduce some of the cooking liquid. 
• If you use a Dutch oven you will not need any extra cooking liquid. For other pans, you may need to add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water every time you stir to prevent burning  
• See ingredients and substitutes above if you don't have the spices. 

Equipment

Dutch Oven

Cutting boards

Kitchen Knife

Nutrition Information

Calories: 454kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 23gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 95mgPotassium: 554mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 900IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 106mgIron: 3mg

The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you

Did you make this recipe? Tag @veenaazmanov on instagram or #hashtag it #veenaazmanov

Frequently asked questions

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