Indian Lamb Curry is a hearty meal that’s easy to prepare & delicious. This easy lamb curry recipe results in fall apart tender meat that’s perfectly spiced. You can make it on the stove, or in the slow cooker or instant pot.
Now that Fall is here, I’m all about bringing out the slow cooker and making hearty dishes that warm you up. Enter this Indian Lamb Curry.
This Easy Lamb Curry is rich, tangy, and all around delicious.
🙌🏻 How to Make Lamb Curry Extra Delicious
- Serve it over basmati rice to soak up all that delicious sauce.
- Add a dollop of yogurt to make it extra creamy.
- Bonus points if you eat it in your PJs on the sofa with a good glass of wine.
🍖 What is the Best Cut of Lamb to Use?
- I like to use bone-in lamb for this recipe. The bones add loads of flavor and at the end of the cook time, the meat will be falling off the bone, so you can easily pick them out of your curry. However, you can also use boneless cuts of lamb if you prefer.
Regardless of whether you’re using bone-in or boneless lamb, you should be sure to look for flavorful cuts of lamb like lamb shoulder or lamb shanks. These will result in the most fork-tender curry.
🛒 Ingredients Needed
- Lamb – Lamb stew meat, lamb shanks, and/or lamb shoulder steaks work best
- Olive Oil
- Onions + Garlic
- Canned Crushed Tomatoes
- Curry, Coriander, Cumin
- Bone Broth – Or chicken stock
- Greek Yogurt – Or substitute coconut milk for a dairy-free version.
- Salt + Black Pepper
- Lemon Juice
📋 How to Make It
- Brown the lamb in a large dutch oven or skillet over medium-high heat. Set aside.
- Add onions, garlic and curry and saute for 3-5 minutes longer.
- Return lamb to skillet along with remaining ingredients (except yogurt).
- Simmer and cook 45 minutes – 1 hour until lamb is tender.
- Stir in yogurt and serve.
How to make it in the slow cooker
- Brown the lamb in a large skillet before adding it to the slow cooker.
- Note: If you’re short on time, you can skip browning the lamb, but it does add a lot of flavor to this dish.
- Brown onions, garlic and curry powder in the same skillet and then add to the slow cooker.
- Add all ingredients to slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
- Stir in greek yogurt and serve.
How to make it in the instant pot
- Brown the lamb using the SAUTE function of your electric pressure cooker. Set aside.
- Add onions, garlic and curry and saute for 3-5 minutes longer.
- Return lamb to Instant Pot along with remaining ingredients (except yogurt) and cook on manual HIGH pressure for 60 minutes.
- Stir in yogurt and serve.
🌟 Variations
- You can add potatoes, cauliflower, peas or green beans to this curry.
- Add potatoes or cauliflower when the lamb is added back to the pot. Or, add frozen green beans or peas during the last 15 minutes of cook time.
🕕 How to Store
This Indian Lamb Curry will keep in the refrigerator for up to five days. Its flavors will continue to develop over time. You can also freeze this curry for up to three months.
🍽 What to Serve with It
- Naan bread
- Basmati rice – For convenience I like making rice in the instant pot or rice cooker.
- Yogurt
- Cilantro
- Tomato Cucumber Salad
- Shirazi Salad
ℹ️ Recipe FAQs
Yes! If you’d like to make this lamb curry dairy-free, simply substitute 1/2 cup coconut milk for the yogurt.
Sure. You can also use beef, chicken or pork to make this dish.
🍷 Wine Pairings
- Dry Riesling is a great match for this dish. Its hint of sweetness will tame down the heat while its acidity stands up to the bold blend of spices.
- Gewurztraminer is another lightly sweet wine that will pair well with curry.
- Grenache is a great red wine option for this dish.
- MORE —-> my 8 favorite lamb wine pairings.
Did you try this lamb curry recipe?
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Indian Lamb Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds bone-in (or 2 pounds boneless, American lamb stew meat, lamb shanks, and/or lamb shoulder steaks)
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium onions (minced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 Tablespoons curry powder
- 1 Tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup bone broth or chicken stock
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- Juice of lemon
For Serving:
- Basmati rice
- Yogurt
- Cilantro
- Tomatoes and Cucumbers
Instructions
Stovetop Directions:
- Brown the lamb in a large dutch oven or skillet. Set aside.
- Add onions, garlic and curry and saute for 3-5 minutes longer.
- Return lamb to skillet along with remaining ingredients (except yogurt). Bring to a simmer and cook 45 minutes – 1 hour until lamb is tender. Stir in yogurt and serve.
Slow Cooker Directions:
- Heat olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium high. Once hot, add the lamb and brown on all sides, working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan. Place in slow cooker.
- Add onions, garlic and curry powder to the skillet and cook until onions have softened, 3-4 minutes. Place in slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients (except yogurto slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6 hours. Stir in yogurt and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with basmati rice, yogurt and cilantro, if desired.
Instant Pot Directions:
- Brown the lamb using the SAUTE function of your Instant Pot. Set aside.
- Add onions, garlic and curry and saute for 3-5 minutes longer.
- Return lamb to Instant Pot along with remaining ingredients (except yogurt) and cook on manual HIGH pressure for 60 minutes. Stir in yogurt and serve.
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
More Lamb Recipes
- Grilled Lamb Kebabs with Basil Tahini Sauce
- Broiled Lamb Chops with Mint Mustard Sauce
- Sheet Pan Lamb Dinner
- Lamb Kebab Recipe
- Marinated Lamb Chops with Rosemary & Garlic
- Grilled Rack of Lamb with Pistachio Basil Pesto
- Grilled Lamb Chops with Spicy Peanut Sauce
- Instant Pot Pasta with Lamb & Mint
More Indian Food Recipes
- Curry Chicken Skewers with Lime
- Indian Butter Chickpeas
- Butternut Squash Curry
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken
- Instant Pot Dal with Split Peas
- Potato Vindaloo
Check out the web story.
This post was originally published in 2019. It was updated in 2022 to add new information and cooking tips. The recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
I never really liked lamb much even back when I still ate meat, but I’m definitely curious to try this curry recipe. I’ll try using tempeh as the protein… I think that would hold up to all the yummy flavors! Thanks for sharing!
Oh man, I love a good curry but lamb has always seemed intimidating to me. I appreciate you including the variations of ways to prepare it. Crockpot it is!
you indicate yogurt can replace the coconut milk but in the ingredient list you list the yogurt but no mention of the coconut milk?? i would like to make it using the coconut milk,, how much should i use?? THANK YOU!!
Hi Fred – I would use 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk.
This recipe is so easy and delicious! To make it so much quicker I used a half leg of lamb and put it in whole, once cooked it all falls off the bone into the sauce. Also, cooked in the oven for 5 hours on 140 as I don’t have a slow cooker (I had to add more liquid) but otherwise it worked really well.
I’m so glad you liked it Brian! Thanks for sharing your advice on making it in the oven!
This dish is simple to prepare and delightful to eat! I took a half leg of lamb and placed it in whole to help it go faster; once done, it all slips off the bone and into the sauce. Also, because I didn’t have a slow cooker, I cooked it in the oven for 5 hours at 140 degrees (I had to add additional liquid), but it turned out well.
Thanks Chris for sharing your oven method! So helpful!
Taught my g-daughter this recipe to teach her how to read a recipe and cook it. Came out delicious.
Thank you, Erin!
You’re so welcome!
From your lemon pasta post come to this article, you help me prepare not only breakfast but also dinner lol
Actually, I’ve just been given a piece of lamb and don’t know what to cook yet. Thank you for your recipe, Erin
You’re welcome Marina – Enjoy!
We recently raised and butchered our own lambs. I haven’t cooked with lamb a whole lot in the past. I came across your recipe and thought I’d give it a try. My husband (and me) absolutely LOVED it!! He ate leftovers all week and then requested I make it again a week later. My 4 kids, 9 and under, all happily ate it as well. Thank you for this delicious recipe. I know we’ll be having a lot of it in the months ahead.
You are welcome Brittany! I’m glad it was a hit!
Therefore there are so many of them available