Simple homemade Pakistani style karahi lamb recipe with tender lamb pieces slow cooked in rich aromatic curry sauce. This recipe is a very straightforward cooking process, cook everything in one pan with cupboard-friendly spices. Cook large batch and freeze some for busy weeknight dinners!
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What is Lamb Karahi
Lamb Karahi is a popular Pakistani lamb curry, also known as mutton karahi, Kadai lamb, or karahi gosht. Karahi curry is originated in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and North Indian, traditionally cooked with mutton, lamb, or choice of meat with garlic, ginger, yogurt, and tomato-based curry sauce. Karahi is named after the Kadai wok that is used to cook the dish which is very similar to the cast-iron pan. It doesn't come with loads of gravy-like other dishes like Lamb Korma or Lamb Balti but it's perfectly match to serve with naan, chapati, or rice.
One of the most ordered curries in the UK Indian and Pakistan restaurants and takeaways. Restaurant lamb curries are prepared with boiled or pre-cooked meat and add the pre-made masala karahi sauce just right before plating.
In this post, I am sharing our homemade version of easy lamb karahi with simple tips and tricks, including with step-by-step cooking recipe video.
Why you would love this dish
- Very straight forward - you can cook everything in one large pot with easy cooking process. Every homecook can recreate at home without much hassle.
- Great for batch cooking - to serve a crowd, all you need is a large cooking pan to combine everything.
- Perfect for freezing and meal prep - leftover lamb karahi can be freeze or store in fridge for later use. Perfect meal prep recipe to save some time for busy days.
- Budget friendly - create Indian restaurant quality dish from scratch with minium budget. You don't need any store-bought curry paste or pre-made base.
Ingredients we need
- Lamb - Lamb stew meat, lamb leg, or lamb shoulder meat is ideal to make this karahi lamb curry recipe. However, you can also swap this mutton, beef, or any red meat of your choice. Cut the meat into medium cubes and remove any excess fat.
- Garlic & Ginger - Add a generous amount of finely grated ginger and garlic or paste.
- Tomatoes - Ripened vine tomatoes have a tangy, sweet taste which creates the best curry gravy base.
- Onions - I used the minimum amount of onions as the original Pakistani or Peshwari karahi doesn't contain onions.
- Spices - To spice up this dish, you will need garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin seeds, and black pepper.
- Yoghurt - Youghurt is the game changer ingredient, that creates the thick, rich, creamy masala curry texture and also tenderize the meat.
- Ghee - Bring your home cooking to the next level authentic flavour! Stir fry the garlic, ginger, onion with rich buttery, nutty ghee to taste like real-deal Indian and Pakistani style cooking.
How to make it
- First marinate the lamb pieces with garlic, ginger, garam masala, salt, and yoghurt.
- Add oil and melt the ghee in the pan, add cumin seeds and stir for few seconds. Sautee the onions, garlic, and ginger paste.
- Next, add the chopped tomatoes and spices. Once the tomatoes and soft and colour changed, add the marinated lamb pieces.
- Saute the lamb pieces for 3-4 minutes and pour the water in and bring it to simmer.
- Now at the yogurt, stir it well, close the lid and cook until tender. Stir occasionally and add more water if needed.
- Turn off the heat, sprinkle coriander and green chilli. Serve with plain rice, naan, or chapati.
Pro Tips
- Do not add loads of onions as the authentic Pakistini lamb karahi curry base is made with garlic, ginger and tomatoes.
- Slow cooking is the key to achieve the fall-apart juicy lamb result. Traditionally karahi curries are cooked with high-heat flame but for this lamb karahi recipe, you need to simmer with heavy-bottom or dutch oven for at least 1 hour for the best result.
- Use freshly grated ginger and garlic instead of the frozen or readymade pastes. Fresh herbs are one of the best way to achieve the aromatic curry base. It can also eliminate any gamey smell of the lamb meat.
- Highly recommend to use fresh green chillies, tomatoes and coriander too. They deliver the best aroma to the curry.
- If you love extra sauce, simply double the ginger, garlic, and tomatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
This dish goes well with plain naan, garlic naan, or chapati. If you a fan of rice, plain fluffy basmati rice, pulao rice are great choices too. Don't forget to pair it with fresh crisp Indian onion and tomato salad.
This dish is medium-hot and the heat is from fresh green chillies, chilli powder, black pepper, and garam masala. If you want to make mild flavour spice level can be customized by reducing the chilli amount to your preference.
If you love tikka-style lamb karahi, you can grill the marinated lamb with the grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Then add in the karahi curry sauce and cook until the meat is tender.
It is 562 kcal per serving without rice or naan. The nutritional data can be varied depending on the different products used.
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📖 Recipe
Lamb Karahi Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g Lamb boneless lamb ( cut small pieces )
- 4-5 Tomatoes Ripened vine tomatoes
- 2 Onions / Shallot Finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Garlic Finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Ginger Finely grated/paste
- 3 tbsp Yoghurt
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 4-5 Green chillies Cut thin slices ( divide in half )
- Handful Coriander
- ½ tsp Salt Or salt to taste
- 1½ cup Water Add more water if needed
Marinade
- 1 tsp Ginger paste Or finely grated
- 1 tsp Garlic paste Or finely grated
- ½ tsp Garam masala
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Yoghurt
Spices
- 1 tsp Chilli powder Or paprika powder
- ½ tsp Coriander powder
- 1½ tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp Black pepper
- ½ tsp Turmeric
Garnish
- Ginger strips Fresh ginger cut into thin strips
Instructions
Marinade the lamb
- First, cut the lamb meat into small bite-size pieces and mix it well with salt, garam masala, yoghurt, ginger paste, and garlic paste. Set it aside and marinade for 15 minutes to 1 hour. If you have more time you can leave it in the fridge for more hours.
Make karahi sauce
- Heat the heavy bottom pan into medium-high heat. Heat the ghee and oil and add the cumin seeds.
- Once the cumin seeds start to pop, add chopped onions, stir for 1-2 minutes until translucent. Next, add the garlic paste, ginger paste and cook until the onions are slightly brown.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, half of the green chillies, and cook until the tomatoes are soft. Follow with the spices, chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, coriander powder, and black pepper.
- Next, add the lamb and continue cook for 3-4 minutes with medium-high heat.
- Pour the water, season with salt, and bring it to simmer.
- Stir in yoghurt, close the lid and simmer with low-medium heat for one and half hour or until the meat is tender. Stir occasionally and add more water if the curry is too thick.
- Once the meat is tender, turn off the heat. Sprinkle the rest of chopped green chillies, and coriander.
- Transfer to serving plate and garnish with ginger strips.
Video
Notes
- Adjust the heat by adding more or less green chillies. Chilli powder can be substituted with paprika powder.
- Ghee is clarified butter that has a buttery, nutty flavour, butter can be used instead of ghee.
- What type of lamb cut to use? Boneless lamb leg, lamb shoulder, or lamb stew meat are great for slow cooking.
- How to freeze and reheat? Keep it in an air-tight container. It usually lasts in the fridge for up to 3-4 days or up to 3 months in the freezer. Reheat in the microwave or over the stovetop until piping hot. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water if needed.
- What to serve with Lamb Karahi? Ideal to serve with plain naan, garlic naan, chapati, flatbread, or simple plain basmati rice. Pair it with spicy Indian onion and tomato salad.
Diane T says
I made this for dinner today and the flavors are good! I doubled the recipe and found it a tad too salty for my taste. The he only thing is that my curry didn’t turn out as red and attractive as yours. The color was more brownish. I wonder if I should have added more chilli powder or maybe tried adding a bit of tomato paste. What do u think?
Tina says
The best Lamb Karahi curry I have ever made. Straightforward and easy to follow recipe. Would definitely recommend everyone giving this a go!! Absolute winner in our household.
Khin says
Thank you so much for trying it out and recommendations, Tina!
Joanne says
If it needs thickening should I use cornflour?
Khin says
Hi Joanne, suggest reducing the sauce to the desired consistency. Do not recommend adding cornflour for this recipe.
Suzanne says
My husband made this recipe and we loved it. He used half as much salt, though, and didn't have ghee so he cooked it in olive oil, then added a small amount of butter at the end. The ginger strips, extra chillies, and cilantro/coriander leaves really add a lot, so we will be sure not to skip the garnishes when we make this again. We had it with garlic and coriander naan. Delicious! We will make this again, but double the recipe so we can freeze some.
Khin says
Sounds absolutely delicious! I also cook with butter and cooking oil if I don't have ghee. Thanks for trying out this recipe and sharing your feedback with us.
Sumi says
This recipe is beautiful. Nice and easy and my hubby loves it!
I also added in some onion seeds to mine as it add a sort of warmth to the dish. Otherwise, love it! Thank you
Simon says
What a wonderful recipe! I made this for my family, everyone enjoyed it and I was left feeling like a pro chef! We'll definitley make this meal again, thanks
Khin says
Very happy that you and your family enjoyed it, Simon. Thanks for trying out and sharing feedback.
Neko Chen says
Looks soooo good! I’m making it this weekend. Can I use double cream instead of yoghurt?
Khin says
Hi Neko, you can add double cream to the curry sauce but do recommend adding cream in the lamb marinade.
Garth says
Hi Neko No it's going to change this into something completely different. I teach Indian cookery. I would recommend just buying some yogurt or malai. भारतीय भोजन भारतीय लोग 🙂
Garth
Betty M says
I made it yesterday and my kids really enjoyed it. I would love to request your lamb biryani recipe. Thanks for sharing easy simple recipes, Khin. We love your quick videos too!
Khin says
Thank you so much for your support Betty.
Jimmy says
This is one of my favourite lamb curry. I cooked it for my family and everyone enjoyed it. Thank you for the recipe Khin.
Khin says
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed it Jimmy. Thank you so much for trying my recipe. Happy cooking 😊
Emma says
I love lamb meat but I don't like the smell of it. How to get rid of that gamey smell? Any tips? I have tried many of your recipes and my family really enjoyed it. Now I am thinking to try this karahi recipe as it's my son's favourite. Thanks!
Khin says
Hi Emma, trim out any excess fat and pat dry all the moisture and blood. Yogurt and fresh ginger garlic paste in the marinade can eliminate all the lamb smell from my experience. Detailed written on the blog post too. Hope this helps.