Lamb korma curry

4.95 from 71 votes

Recipe video above. In stark contrast to bold spicy curries like Vindaloo, Lamb Korma is creamy, nutty and gently spiced. It's easy to love and so family-friendly, I call it the "other butter chicken"! Slow cooked until the meat is fall-apart tender, I particularly love the subtle cashew flavour in the sauce from the pureed cashews, and the distinct flavour that lamb adds to sauce.

* Oven method yields the best flavour but see note 8 for slow cooker, instant pot and pressure cooker methods. Super handy, and I was very happy with it!

Prep Time20

Cook Time2 30

Course: Mains

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: korma curry, lamb curry, lamb korma

Servings:

Calories: 604cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

Onion paste:

2 large onions , cut into 1cm/1/2" squares (brown or yellow)
8 large garlic cloves , peeled, halved
4cm/ 1.5" piece ginger , peeled, sliced 3mm/0.2" thick

Cashew puree:

1/4 cup cashews , roasted, unsalted (~20 cashews)
1/3 cup water

Lamb korma

3 tbsp ghee (Note 1), or unsalted butter
800g / 1.6 lb lamb shoulder (Note 2), trimmed off excess fat, cut into 4-5 cm / 2" cubes
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
5 1/2 tsp garam marsala (Note 3)
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder (or smoked paprika + cayenne - Note 4)
2 cups chicken stock/broth , low-sodium
10 cardamom pods (green), lightly crushed, wrapped and tied in muslin or cheesecloth (Note 5)
2 cinnamon sticks
4 tsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
1/2 cup coconut cream , full-fat (Note 6)
1/2 cup cream , full-fat (any type - thickened/heavy, pure etc)(Note 6)

SERVING

Basmati rice or other plain white rice of choice
Naan , for dunking! (optional)
Cashews finely chopped (optional sprinkle)
Coriander/cilantro leaves , roughly chopped (optional garnish)

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Onion puree – Place the onion, garlic and ginger into a tall container that fits the head of a stick blender. Blitz until smooth – about 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape into a bowl, set aside.
Cashew puree - In the same jar, while covering the mouth of the jar with your hand (to prevent flying cashew comets), blitz the cashews and water with the stick blender until smooth, about 10 seconds. , Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).
Reduce onion puree – Melt and heat ghee in a ~24 cm/ 10" oven-proof pot over high-heat. Cook the onion puree, stirring regularly, for 8 minutes until it has reduced by half. Don’t let it caramelise.
Add lamb, reduce to medium-high heat then stir until the meat changes from red to light brown. Don’t try to brown the meat (it won't happen).
Sauce - Add turmeric, ground ginger, garam marsala and kashmiri chilli, then stir through. Pour in the stock (the liquid should just barely cover the meat). Add cardamom pod sachet and cinnamon sticks, then stir. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid then transfer to the oven.
Slow cook – Cook for 1 1/2 hours. Stir in Cashew Puree, put the lid back on then return to the oven for another 30 minutes. The sauce should have thickened to a creamy consistency and lamb should be tender end to pull apart with forks with no effort. (Note 6)
Creamy sauce - Place the pot on a low heat. Add the sugar, salt, coconut cream and cream, then stir. Simmer for 2 minutes, then you’re done!
Serve over basmati rice with a sprinkle of cashew nuts and coriander, if desired. Naan for dunking highly recommended!

Notes

1. Ghee - A type of clarified butter used in Indian cooking, tastes like butter on steroids! Fairly readily available these days in the Indian section of large grocery stores, Indian and Asian shops. Substitute with unsalted butter, or coconut oil (unrefined/virgin which has lovely coconut flavour).

2. Lamb shoulder is the best because it becomes meltingly tender with hours of slow cooking to break down the tough fibres. No other cut of lamb will produce the same results (see Ingredients section for commentary). Cut large cubes else they will cook too quickly, before the sauce has had sufficient time to develop flavour. PS I know 800g/1.6 lb lamb sounds like a lot for 4 servings, but it shrinks a lot!

Other meat - Beef chuck or boneless ribs, or pork shoulder, follow recipe as written, though note that korma is most commonly made with lamb.

3. Garam masala is a spice mix used in Indian cooking that is easily found these days in the spice aisle of large grocery stores. Think of it as the better curry powder! If you can't find it, substitute with an Indian curry powder.

4. Kashmiri is a spicy, smoky Indian chilli powder sold at Indian grocery stores and some speciality stores. Substitute with 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika plus 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

5. Cardamom - Bundle up and tie to hold the cardamom pods in a bag. Otherwise, just put the loose pods in the curry and pick them out when eating (this really doesn’t bother me, but I know someone people don’t like it!).

6. Avoid low fat! If you go down the low-fat path, you will find that the sauce lacks the creamy mouthfeel and Korma-coconut-flavour. I really recommend sticking to full fat!

7. Sauce thickness - If the sauce is not thick enough, just reduce on the stove before adding the cream and coconut cream. If the lamb is not tender enough, cover and return to the oven in 10 minute increments.

8. Slow cooker, pressure cooker, instant pot method - Need to alter recipe else the sauce lacks flavour because the meat is not browned off and you don't get surface caramelisation like you do in the oven. Here's how to do it:

Reduce chicken stock/broth by 1 cup
Increase coconut cream and cream to 2/3 cup each, and increase salt by 1/4 tsp.
Puree cashews with 1/3 cup chicken stock instead of water
Start on stove or sauté function of instant pot/slow cooker.
Melt all the ghee OR 1 tbsp plain oil on high heat then brown the surface of the lamb in batches (but still raw inside). Remove. (If you used oil, add butter now).
Cook down the onion puree per recipe then follow recipe as written (returning browned lamb into pot) up to step 6.
Add cashew puree and coconut cream (but not regular cream), bring to simmer. Transfer everything into slow cooker/IP (scrape out pot well!).
Cook times - Slow cooker (LOW 8 hrs, HIGH 3 hrs), pressure cooker/IP HIGH 40 min.
Stir in regular cream. Simmer with lid off if needed to thicken sauce (shouldn't need, but sometimes lamb drops more juices than expected). Serve!

Storage - Leftovers will keep for 3 days, though I always feel the spice flavours start fading!

Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings. Does not include rice or naan.

Nutrition