Slow Cooker Lamb Curry
on Feb 13, 2020, Updated Nov 25, 2024
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This slow cooker lamb curry is pretty much a dump-and-cook kinda dinner. You can add everything to your slow cooker before work and come back to your house smelling of curry and a delicious dinner ready to eat by evening!
I am a slow cooker recipes kick currently, and after the success of my slow cooker chicken curry (one of the most popular recipes on the blog), I decided it was time to make a Slow Cooker Lamb Curry!
Traditional lamb curry recipes are time consuming and involve lots of stirring and baby sitting for the flavors to develop. But with this slow cooker lamb curry recipe you can achieve the same depth, rustic flavors – with just 10 minutes of prep!
And the results are fantastic – a deliciously fragrant, spicy curry with the tenderest lamb meat ever! Eat it with rice and some sliced onions for a warming and hearty meal ❤️
jump to section: 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!
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
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.
Richa’s Top Tips
- 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
- 1/2 cup Yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 4 tablespoon Oil
- 1/2 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
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 cups Tomato Puree, Tomato Passata
- 3/4 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.
Can you cook this on low instead of high? What times would you suggest. Longer times help me work my day out better.
Absolutely, you’ll need to cook this for 10-12 hours on low.
Awesome best curry ever restaurant quality. I went a bit lighter on the chilli personal taste and used Greek yoghurt to thicken.
Sounds great! Thanks for trying it out
Outstanding recipe.
thanks a lot Scott
Which meat masala do you use please?
I really love Lala’s or Shaan’s meat masala but Everest is also a good option
Came home from work expecting a beautiful curry but after 6 hours on high in the crockpot it was burnt to a crisp….
Hey Aniyah, I’m sorry you had a bad experience while making this recipe, but many others have followed the recipe with great results.
Hi Richa! Thank you for the recipe.
I haven’t made it yet, but I know it will
be amazing. Question- Is red chili powder the same as Kashmiri powder?
Similar but Kashmiri chilli powder has a brighter colour and less heat
The best Lamb curry I’ve ever had the pleasure to make and enjoy with friends. I couldn’t find a Meat Masala spice so used TRS Tandoori Masala bbq spice blend (I’m in the UK). Many thanks for the recipe, definitely a keeper.
I didn’t have the “meat curry” so I used curry pwdr and less than 1/2 the recipe but this is delicious! bThank you!
i realize im very late to the party here. Try it with the meat masala too next time, currypowder is not even remotely close to the same thing. It will be a completely different experience 🙂
Hey Per, thank you for the feedback.
This is the second time I have made this,even my neighbor’s could smell it.
It absolutely delicious.
thank you.
Yaaay that’s a really good sign. Sooo happy you enjoyed it!
I must say this is hands down the most authentic flavoured curry meals we’ve ever eaten. We both oohed and aaahed whilst we downed this meal. I love a bit of veg with my meals so i added a simple salad of onion, cucumber (deseeded), mint & coriander dressed in cumin, salt and lime juice which i’m so glad i did because it helped to cut through the fatty richness of the lamb shanks used in the recipe (rec lamb shoulder but our butcher only had shanks) and we checked many places for the Meat Masala (never heard of it!) but i’m so glad we finally found it and didnt have to omit or substitute it because I feel this dish wouldn’t be what its meant to be without it. This receipe is definitely going into our arsenal of recipes to come back to again and again! It was sooo yummy and the spice kick was just perfect for us.