This lamb curry is made by slow cooking lamb shanks and chunks of lamb shoulder in a flavorful curry base with chopped apple, potatoes, onions, garlic, lemon, and raisins until it is fall apart tender.

It’s so good! The apples, onions, and raisins give the lamb curry some sweetness, while a couple slices of lemon add some acidity and bitter to balance the flavors of the dish.

I first encountered this lamb curry at my friend Elizabeth Abbott’s parent’s house and begged her mother Maria for the recipe, which, thankfully, she gave me. I’ve played around with it over the years, upped the spices, added raisins, cooked it on the stovetop, cooked it in an Instant Pot. It all works.

The Secret to Great Lamb Curry

The key is slow cooking the tougher cuts of lamb. Both the shanks and the shoulders of a young lamb get plenty of exercise, which makes the meat much more flavorful than, say, a delicate lamb chop. But this activity also makes the meat tough, and so you need to cook it for a longer amount of time to soften the connective tissue and make it tender.

Those 1-hour lamb stews? Chewy. You need at least 2 to 2 1/2 hours to get the meat so tender that it is falling off the bone. Want to speed up the process? You can cut the time in half if you use a pressure cooker.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless (or 3 pounds bone-in) lamb stew meat, lamb shanks, and/or lamb shoulder steaks
• 2 onions, chopped (about 3 to 4 cups)
• 3 to 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 to 3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter), or 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil with 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 to 3 tablespoons curry powder (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 slices lemon, with rind (use 3 slices if using Meyer lemons)
• 2 peeled and chopped apples, preferably tart green Granny Smith apples (about 2 cups)
• 1/4 cup (40g) golden raisins
• 1 1/2 cups (350ml) chicken stock
• 1 1/2 pounds (680g) small potatoes, quartered
• 2 cups basmati rice
• Chutney and/or yogurt, to serve

Method

1. Brown the lamb pieces on all sides:Heat the ghee or the butter-with-olive-oil in a large, thick-bottomed pot (with cover) or Dutch oven on medium-high.Working in batches if necessary, brown the meat well on all sides and remove it from pan.Elise BauerElise Bauer
2. Make the curry base:Lower the heat to medium low and add the curry powder to the ghee or oil. Cook gently for a minute or two.Add onions and garlic and cook 5 minutes.Return the lamb to the pan, and add the coriander, black pepper, cumin, rosemary, thyme, sliced lemon, apples, raisins, chicken stock, and salt.Elise BauerElise BauerElise Bauer
3. Cook the curry:Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pot. (You can also put the pot in a 300°F oven).Cook for 2 hours. Check at 2 hours to see if the meat is falling off the bone. It should be starting to do so.Elise Bauer
4. Add the potatoes:Cook until tender, another 45 minutes.Elise Bauer
5. Cook the rice:While the curry is cooking, cook the rice. Put 2 cups of basmati rice in a medium thick-bottomed pot. Add 3 cups of water (less or more depending on package instructions), a tablespoon of butter or ghee, and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a low simmer, cover the pot and let cook for 15 minutes (again check your package instructions).Remove from heat, keep covered, and let steam for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
6. Serve:To serve, you can pull the meat off the bones or leave it on. Taste for salt and add some more curry powder or add cayenne if you want things spicier.Serve over rice with chutney and/or yogurt for drizzling over top.Did you love the recipe? Let us know with a rating and review!