Lamb masala. The beautiful marriage of succulent lamb with aromatic spices – it’s the ultimate way to create the best spiced lamb. Incredibly easy to make and totally delicious, this spice laden dish makes for one of the best comforting winter meal.
Fact: The aroma of simmering curry over the stove never fails to bring instant warmth and comfort to dreary winter evenings. The beautiful succulent meat mingling with tomatoes, turmeric, coriander and garam masala is absolutely delicious and incredibly flavorful.
Most of the flavor of this lamb masala comes from tender lamb with its unique taste. I prefer using leg roast or shoulder roast in this recipe as it contains more fat and is perfect to create that rich sauce. The real secret here is adding a generous amount of spices contrasting the strong gamy flavor of the lamb. I like to serve this curry with naan, roti, parathas or even steamed rice.
Lamb Masala Recipe
Start with sautéing diced lamb with a little salt and pepper. You can do this in oil or ghee. Once the lamb pieces are browned, remove from pan and set aside.
Now you can make the sauce for this lamb dish. Stir fry a few whole spices like cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cardamom pods. When you get a nice aroma, brown some chopped onions. The onions should be lightly browned before you add in minced ginger and garlic.
When aromatic, stir fry ground turmeric, ground coriander and red chili powder. Next, stir fry tomato paste. Now you can add in lamb, water and seasoning. Simmer for about 45 minutes. Lamb is ready when it’s super tender and succulent.
The final step of cooking this lamb masala – adding garam masala, coriander (cilantro) leaves and a light sprinkle of dried fenugreek leaves or kasuri methi. Stir and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Delicious masala lamb to serve with your favorite sides – naan, parathas or rice. Yum!
More Lamb Recipes:
- Lamb Saag
- Lamb Vindaloo
- Indian Lamb Chops Curry
- Lamb Keema | Spiced Minced Meat
- Indian Lamb Shank Curry
- Lamb Tikka
- Lamb Karahi
- Lamb Biryani
- Slow Cooker Lamb Curry
- Lamb Bhuna
- Pulled Lamb Burger
- Indian Slow Cooker Pulled Lamb
- Lamb Rogan Josh
- Jamie Oliver’s North Indian Lamb Curry
- Lamb Korma
- Spicy Lamb Stir Fry
Yield: 4
Lamb Masala | Video
Succulent and tender lamb cooked in spiced masala sauce!
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil or ghee
- 1 kg lamb, diced (I used leg of lamb)
- 2 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1-inch cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1-inch ginger, peeled and minced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (turmeric powder)
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander (coriander powder)
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Coriander (cilantro) leaves, to garnish
- Naan or rice, to serve
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil or ghee in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add lamb. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan. Set aside. (Fry in batches if needed)
- To the same pan, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil or ghee. When hot, add cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Sauté, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add onions. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until browned.
- Add ginger and garlic. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 2-3 minutes or until aromatic.
- Add ground turmeric, ground coriander and red chili powder. Sauté, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add tomato paste. Sauté, stirring, for 1 minute. Add browned lamb and water. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 40-45 minutes or until lamb is tender.
- Add garam masala, chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves and kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves). Stir to combine. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
- Garnish with coriander (cilantro) leaves. Serve with naan, paratha, roti or steamed rice.
Notes
- You can use leg or shoulder of lamb in this recipe
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 984Total Fat 64gSaturated Fat 25gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 34gCholesterol 251mgSodium 388mgCarbohydrates 32gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 66g
The nutritional data is for information purposes only
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This was absolutely beautiful. The sauce was rich and comforting. The lamb was tender and melted in the mouth. Winter in Canberra is very cold at the moment and eating this dish felt like i was receiving a warm hug. Definitely is a keeper. Thank you for your wonderful authentic recipe.
Could I make this using a whole leg of lamb on the bone, Slow cooked on the curry sauce?
yes