If you’re looking for a curry that delivers comfort, fragrance, and just the right amount of indulgence, Lamb Korma is the dish to try. Unlike fiery-hot curries, this North Indian classic is all about subtlety: tender pieces of lamb simmered slowly in a sauce of yogurt, creaminess from cashews, and the warm embrace of spices like cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. The result is a velvety, aromatic curry that feels both luxurious and deeply satisfying. What makes Korma special is its balance – gentle heat from green chilies, a touch of saffron for colour and fragrance, and the richness of ghee carrying the flavours beautifully. It’s a dish that works just as well for a special dinner as it does for a comforting family meal. Pair it with basmati rice or warm naan to soak up every last bit of the sauce.
My Lamb Korma Variations
This creamy, delicious Lamb Korma is a beloved family recipe. I have presented the original recipe below, but feel free to try some modifications if you like! Try it with coconut cream (yum!) or add veggies. Read about variations in the notes below the recipe.
Lamb Korma – A Gentle, Aromatic Curry
Ingredients
- 450 g lean lamb cubed
- ½ tsp saffron
- 3 Tbsp boiling water (for soaking saffron)
- 50 g cashews
- 3 green chilies
- 25 g fresh ginger
- 2.5 cm cinnamon stick
- ½ tsp cardamom seed
- 6 whole cloves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp cumin seed
- 1¼ cups water
- 100 g ghee (or butter or cooking oil) clarified butter
- 1 large onion
- 1 tsp salt
- 1¼ cups yogurt (plain or Greek)
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- 2 tsp lemon juice
Method
- Cube lamb into big bite-sized chunks (it will shrink when cooked) and remove fat.
- Infuse saffron in 3 Tbs boiling water for 10 minutes.
- Blend cashews, chilies, garlic, coriander, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and 1¼ cups water into a smooth paste.
- Heat ghee until hot, then fry sliced onions until golden brown. If using butter instead of ghee, cook at a lower temperature to avoid burning.
- Stir in salt, yogurt, and the spice paste. Cook gently for 5 minutes.
- Add lamb and saffron. Reduce heat to very low, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes (or longer until tender).
- Stir in fresh coriander and cook for another 10 minutes. Add lemon juice to finish.
Nutrition
Notes
- Garnish with fresh coriander before serving.
- Serving tip: This curry is best enjoyed with fluffy basmati rice or freshly baked naan, letting the sauce shine as the heart of the meal.
- My family like to serve it with a stack of fresh poppadoms.
Here are some optional modifications that have worked for me:
- To make the lamb extra-tender, soak the raw lamb in yogurt overnight in the refrigerator.
- Everybody knows that curry gets better the next day! Although you can cook this in about an hour, I have also cooked it for 9 hours (overnight) in a slow-cooker. The meat became gorgeously tender! Plus, the flavours meld and mature.
- Quality lamb meat can be quite expensive, and not everybody loves quite so much meat. I sometimes modify this recipe by adding veggies: sliced baby marrow and canned kidney beans. These worked great to bulk-out the meal without spending much money.
- Coconut Cream or Coconut Milk (canned) can be added, either as a substitute for yogurt (for a dairy-free recipe) or in addition to the yogurt (for an extra-creamy, lighter flavour). Some recipes add fresh dairy cream… whatever appeals to you, I promise it will be great!
- Saffron is an extremely expensive spice! If you want to save, you can skip it. It has a subtle effect on flavour and colour.
This stuff is incredible! I once had a girlfriend visiting, and she ate all of our frozen Korma in about a week. For breakfast!!! The others in the household were not impressed with her when they discovered that there was none left for dinner!