This slow cooker lamb curry is pretty much a dump and cook kinda dinner. You can add everything to your slow cooker and come home to your house smelling of curry and a delicious dinner ready to eat by evening!
This recipe is a must make if you own a slow cooker and love lamb. I've been experimenting with a lot of curries in my slow cooker lately because OMG so convenient. My first success was the slow cooker chicken curry that is one of the most popular recipes on the site! And for good reason. Indian food can be time consuming and can involve some stirring and grinding spices etc. But my slow cooker curries are really dump and go. And the results are fantastic! No boring, dumbed down flavors here. These are packed with flavor and you won't believe how little effort goes into them.
The only pre-cooking I ask you to do for this slow cooker lamb curry is sautรฉing onions, garlic and ginger. This helps get rid of the raw flavor that sometimes doesn't go away completely in the slow cooker and helps you start off with aromas that help cook the lamb along the way.
Table Of Contents: Slow Cooker Lamb Curry
Note: Our go to meat of choice in India is goat, which is why this one is a slow cooker mutton curry. But whatever you use - sheep or goat meat, this recipe is a winner!
Best cut for lamb curry
Because this curry is slow cooker, the cut of meat you use doesn't matter as much. But I really love using shoulder to make lamb curry. It has some fat, tender meat and enough bones to give this curry what it needs. And yes, don't get rid of the bones. They stew and add to the curry so totally worth keeping some.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mutton has a lot more fat content making it ideal for slow cooking. The fat keeps the meat juicy and tender throughout the long cooking process, making it ideal for stews and curries. However, with proper cooking time and adding enough liquid, you can easily cook lamb in the slow cooker to achieve similar results as mutton.
This lamb curry takes 6-8 hours on high in the slow cooker. But depending on the quality of meat you have, you can add or subtract an hour.
Top tips for making lamb curry in a slow cooker
- You can use any cut of meat, though we recommend shoulder. Ask your butcher to cut it up for you
- Don't add any more liquid than what's specified in the recipe. Many slow cooker recipes will turn out watery with way too much gravy that dilutes the flavor. You really don't need a lot of liquid here. The meat leaves some liquid as it cooks, and because the slow cooker doesn't let a lot of steam escape, the food cooks in its own liquid.
- Even though this recipe takes 6 hours to cook, I would recommend taking it as the base and then checking from there. Since its lamb, even if you leave it for a little longer, it'll stay just as tender!
I really love serving this with some plain steamed rice because the curry already has so much flavor. Sliced onions help cut through the rich fatty curry and a squirt of lime really takes it to the next level!
Watch how to make slow cooker lamb curry recipe video
Slow Cooker Lamb Curry
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 kg Lamb Shoulder cut into pieces
- ยฝ cup Yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 4 tablespoon Oil
- ยฝ cup Onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon Garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon Ginger chopped
- 2 Green Chillies / Serrano Peppers finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons Meat Masala store bought meat curry powder
- 1 tablespoon Red Chilli Powder
- 2 tablespoons Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 1 teaspoon Fennel Saunf
- ยฝ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ยฝ cups Tomato Puree Tomato Passata
- ยพ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Coriander / cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Marinate the lamb in yogurt, turmeric and salt and set aside for half an hour.
- In a pan, heat a tablespoon of oil and saute onions, garlic and ginger till the onions are soft and light golden brown.
- In a slow cooker, add the marinated lamb, cooked onion mixture, three tablespoons oil, green chillies, meat masala, red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, fennel, salt, tomato puree and water. Mix well and cook on high for 6-8 hours till the lamb is fork tender. Top with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice/ parathas/ naan.
Michiel says
Delicious! All my guests loved this dish. Next I will try the chicken curry.
Richa Gupta says
Hi Michiel! So happy to hear that! Do let us know how the chicken curry turned out!
Trevor Law says
Delicious, authentic and so easy.
Richa Gupta says
Thanks Trevor! This lamb curry seems to be a reader's favourite!
Jane Swales says
This recipe was so easy to make. Used medium curry powder as I couldn't get meat masala. The result was the best homemade curry we've ever tasted. Authentic & full of flavour with just the right amount of kick!
Richa says
Wohooo! So happy you liked the recipe Jane. Thanks for leaving a comment!
Fazi says
I didn't have any meat masala, so I followed Richas recommendation with the substitute. I personally believe the meat masala must be important for the dish because it completely changed the flavour. I didn't enjoy it as much but my partner devoured it! So it gets 5 stars for being delicious either way!
Richa Gupta says
Haha thanks, Fazi!
Samantha Monis says
Replaced meat masala with equal portions of biryani and kitchen king masalas. Made this recipe in a pressure cooker. Loved it!
Manan says
Hey Richa,
If instead of 1kg I make this with 500gms, should I decrease all the other ingredients proportionately??
Richa Gupta says
Yes, Manan. Reduce your ingredients by half and adjust the seasoning.
mangetoutcookingschool says
Do you have any slow cooker Dhal recipes?? Would love Dhal Tadka or Dhal Makhani.
Richa Gupta says
Yes, we do! Here you go - Slow Cooker Dal Makhni
Shibzzi says
Also, I didn't have ground coriander so I substituted with ground cumin and doubled the dose (i.e. I used 4 tablespoons of ground cumin) - is that okay??
Richa says
Not really. Those are two different spices and too much cumin can make this slightly bitter. If you don't have ground coriander, skip it and substitute it with fresh coriander towards the end
shibzzi says
Hello, Richa!
In terms of the tomato purรฉe, can I actually use what is called tomato passata in the UK as opposed to tomato purรฉe which comes in a tube?
Thanks ๐
Richa says
Hey hey! Yes please substitute with passata. That's what tomato puree in India is
Mandy says
If I do not have a slow cooker how long should I cook it for? Otherwise if I do in a pressure cooker again how long? Thanks
Richa says
Hey Mandy, you can just make this on the stove. Cook it for approx 1-1.5 hours till the mutton is cooked and is fork tender. Or pressure cook it for 5-6 whistles on a medium high flame.
James Hickey says
Any recommendations on how to do this with no yogurt? Dairy free over here. Thanks
Richa says
You can use coconut milk instead
Kierra says
What can be used instead of Meat Masala if I cannot find any? Can I use extra Garam Masala?
Richa says
Hey Kierra, no don't use extra Garam Masala. You can use an extra teaspoon of coriander powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder and 3/4 teaspoon red chilli powder instead
Shibzzi says
Hello Richa,
Should this definitely be on high heat and not low heat?? Just got confused by the text on the video - help!! I have just put the slow-cooker on now!
Many thanks ๐
Richa says
Hey! I'm sorry this is confusing. It should be cooked on high heat like mentioned
Trin Mendonca says
Thanks for the recipe Richa. I made it with Beef and cooked it on high for 4 hours and then left it on low for 3 and it is DELICIOUS!!
Richa says
Perfect!! Soooo happy you liked the recipe Trin! Thank you for leaving a comment
Chetna says
Can u suggest a good brand/s of slow cookers that can be bought in India?
Richa says
Hey! I think you can hamilton beach and crockpot in India
Dawn Oberbrunner says
Delicious, thanks so much!
Richa says
Glad you liked it Dawn!