This Indian inspired lamb curry includes lovely, warm spices, luscious eggplant, tomatoes and a cooling yogurt sauce. It’s a wonderful dish to prepare for friends or family on the weekend.
Ingredient Notes
- Lamb shoulder– Lamb shoulder is a great cut for stew, because it becomes extremely tender when braised. Boneless leg of lamb could also be used
- Eggplant- Smaller eggplants tend to be less bitter. Male eggplants also are generally less bitter than female eggplants, as they contain fewer seeds. To distinguish if an eggplant is male of female, flip it upside down. If the indentation is round, it’s a male, if it’s shaped like a dash, it’s female. Eggplants that are ripe should plump with some give to them. Very firm eggplant are likely under-ripe.
- Spices– I use a mix of Indian inspired spices for this recipe, but you can definitely simply this recipe by using about 1 ½ tablespoons or so of your favorite curry blend.
This is not a traditional Indian curry by any means. Perhaps stew would be a more appropriate term. In any case, it’s a tasty recipe that I feel a lot of people would enjoy.
Recipe Steps
Each step of this recipe takes a bit of time, but they’re simple steps and well worth the flavor pay off. First, I brown the lamb (1). Then I remove the lamb from the pot and caramelize some sliced onions (2).
Next, I add aromatics to the pot along with tomatoes. Then I add back the lamb and some water. I simmer the stew for a couple hours until the meat is tender and flavorful.
Then, I fry the eggplant (3) and stir that into the stew. This curry is great served with yogurt sauce, naan and some lime wedges.
Recipe FAQs and Tips
Why is my lamb curry tough?
If your lamb curry is tough, the meat has not cooked long enough. Continue cooking until the connective tissue breaks down and softens.
I always brown meat for any braised dish including curries. The caramelized meat adds great flavor to the finished dish.
- Check out the recipe notes above for more info on how to choose a good eggplant.
- Substitute your favorite curry blend in place of the individual spices to save time.
- Another way to save time, is to cook the onions for about 5-10 minutes instead of upwards of 30 minutes or so. You won’t develop quite as much flavor, but you will still have a great end product.
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Related Recipes
- Roasted Eggplant Parmesan
- Baby Lamb Chops with Mint Pesto
- Harissa Lamb Burgers
- Dukkah Crusted Lamp Chops
- Moroccan Lamb Shanks
- Coconut Curry Chicken Legs
- Thai Red Curry Lentil Soup
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Indian Spiced Lamb Curry with Eggplant and Yogurt Sauce
- Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Indian inspired lamb curry includes lovely, warm spices, luscious eggplant, tomatoes and a cooling yogurt sauce. It’s a wonderful dish to prepare for friends or family on the weekend.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large onions, very thinly sliced
- 4x1 inch piece ginger root, finely grated on microplane (~2 tsp paste)
- 4 cloves garlic, finely grated on microplane
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ¾ tsp Kashmiri chili powder (or more paprika/cayenne pepper, to taste)
- 1 ½ inch cinnamon stick
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 large bay leaf
- 14 oz canned whole tomatoes (I prefer San Marzano)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1lb eggplant (about 1 large), cut into 1 inch cubes
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
- Pinch sugar (optional)
Yogurt sauce:
- 1 cup whole fat plain yogurt
- 1 clove garlic, grated on microplane
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- Kosher salt
- Lime zest and olive oil for topping
For serving:
- Naan bread (warmed) or cooked basmati rice
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Brown the meat: Heat a dutch oven or large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high to high heat. Pat lamb cubes dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons oil to preheated pot, followed by meat. Cook undisturbed until well-browned on first side. Flip and brown on remaining sides, about 12-15 minutes total. Remove lamb and set aside, reserving excess oil in pot.
- Cook onions: Reduce heat to medium and add onions to pot. Season with salt. There should be enough oil to cook the onions, but add more, if needed. Continue to cook over low to medium heat for a total of 25-30 minutes or until soft and lightly caramelized.
- Add aromatics & tomatoes: Add ginger, garlic and all spices to pot. Toast in oil for about 30-60 seconds, being cautious to avoid browning the garlic. Add tomatoes and season with salt. Add back lamb. Stir in about 1 ½ cups water or enough to cover meat.
- Simmer curry: Bring curry to a simmer and cook over low to medium-low heat for about 2-2 ½ hours or until lamb is tender and sauce is flavorful. Add additional water while cooking, if needed, if sauce becomes too thick. Alternately, if sauce is too thin, simmer curry until it thickens to desired consistency.
- Fry eggplant: Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add ¼ cup of oil, followed by eggplant. Toss to combine. Do not salt immediately. Brown eggplant on all sides, then season generously with salt. Cook until well-browned and tender, adjusting heat as needed, for a total of about 12-15 minutes. Stir into curry after lamb is tender. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add a pinch of sugar to balance flavors, if desired.
- Make yogurt sauce: Combine yogurt, garlic and lime juice in a bowl. Season with salt. Top with lemon zest and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Serve: Distribute curry among serving bowls, top with cilantro and yogurt, and serve with warmed naan bread or rice, and lime wedges. Enjoy.
Notes
- Boneless leg of lamb could be used in place of lamb shoulder.
- Refer to notes above for choosing a good eggplant.
- Consider using approximately 1 ½ tablespoons of your favorite curry spice blend instead of individual spices listed.
- To save time, consider sautéing onions more quickly as long as they’re translucent and soft.
- Store in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Main
- Method: Braise
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ of curry
- Calories: 570
- Sugar: 16g
- Sodium: 340mg
- Fat: 35g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 26g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 27g
- Fiber: 8g
- Protein: 40g
- Cholesterol: 120mg
Tons of flavor, easy to make. I probably put in more ginger and garlic than called for, but I like strong flavors.
Thanks so much for the kind comment, Noelani! I will try with more ginger and garlic next time I make it for myself 🙂
Excellent curry with the yoghurt was really spectacular
Thank you!! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
This was delicious!! Omg!! I rarely cook with cloves so I used clove powder and cinnamon power. It was still amazing. Will be making again!
That is so wonderful to hear, Ashley!! Thank you 🙂
I want to try it first!!!!
Let me know if you do 🙂
Beautiful. There’s nothing quite as comforting to me as a curry. And lamb makes it extra special!
Agreed :). Thanks, Mimi!
Why would you say this is not Indian. This has all the hallmarks of Indian cooking. Really delicious Indian cooking in fact. The olive oil is maybe the only thing that is a bit different – and splurging on San Marzano tomatoes. Nicely done! And great pics as well. Curries are not easy to photograph.
Haha, thanks :). Curries are tough to photograph! You’re a pro with that.
Beautiful photo. Nice recipe. I would call it Indian inspired.
Thanks, Kamini! I appreciate that coming from you 🙂