This slow-cooked traditional lamb chops curry is my mothers all-time classic in our Bengali family. Admittedly, this dish was a rarity and as it would often be for a special occasion. So, if you’re looking to make something indulgent as a treat for yourself or a loved one, you are in the right place! Honestly speaking, I have tried a few similar recipes, but this is the best ever, period.
This recipe has a super-rich and decadent gravy that develops when you slow-cook this over a medium heat. Not to mention, if you follow this family recipe, it will literally fall of the bone, and is perfect to scoop up with rice, naan or roti.
Because my heritage is both Indian and Bengali, this recipe is inspired by both a Bangladeshi and Indian style of cooking, but probably more akin to the former (as geographically, my family were super close to Bangladesh which means we share a lot of strong cultural and historical ties, not least reflected in our food).
This recipe is a part of a seven-part series where I introduce the internet to some of the timeless classics of my mothers kitchen (but generally underappreciated Indian and Bengali dishes that deserve some wider acknowledgement for their incredible flavours). If you want to follow along for the seven-part series, feel free to follow me on my social media.
Other dishes from my seven part series include my bengali chicken curry recipe, my aubergine fry and my sweet and spicy tomato chutney!
Cooking Tips?
Luckily my mother is full of Bangla cooking tips (for better or worse, her tips are often in the form of shouting) and I have tried my best to write this recipe so it’s almost like having her on hand!
Layering flavours
This recipe needs time and love and you’ll often spend time covering, allowing spices to cook, mixing and covering again.
It really is a case of slow-cooking this over a period of time and layering flavours in. For example, we add the tomatoes into the curry after the lamb chops and spices have had cooked together.
After those tomatoes have melted into our gravy, we then add some more herbs like ginger, cardamom, garlic, cinnamon and bayleaf etc.
Basically, the flavour profile of this dish builds over time so don’t commence the cooking process if you’re in need of something very quick.
Spices
My mum is very particular about the spices that she uses in her lamb chop curry and says the success of a curry is all about the colour of the gravy that you get at the end!
You’ll be able to see from the pictures that the gravy is a healthy brown with a tinge of red and so the other tip would be, don’t stray too far from the masala that we use here (turmeric, chilli powder, curry powder, garam masala and cumin powder.)
For a step-by-step guide on how to make lamb chops curry scroll down to my recipe card (for detail), or check out my social media for a visual guide!
Tender lamb chops
While I was cooking this dish with my mum, I noticed that at each step she would kind of poke the lamb chops with her wooden spoon to assess how tender it was.
So, in order to get it to the tender, fall-off-the-bone level, I would recommend keeping a close eye on the heat ensuring it stays within the low medium to medium range.
Part of it will also be instinctive, you will know when your lamb has reached a perfect level of tenderness by virtue of its look and feel. Once cooked, don’t be afraid to take a little bit off of the chop and test if it’s to your desired liking.
What vegetables can I pair this with?
Because of the richness of this curry, I love pairing it with a root vegetable, but if you’re not a fan and would prefer the curry without potatoes or carrots, you could skip the veg prep step.
Make sure that you initially fry the carrots or potatoes off in turmeric and salt before you add them to the curry. If you are using potatoes instead of carrots, just note that the cooking time is smaller!
I use potatoes in my chicken curry dish here, so follow this guide if you prefer spuds to carrots!
What cut of lamb do I use for this dish?
The best cut of lamb that you can use for this curry is lamb loin chops, which gets super tender and juicy! Traditionally lamb chops come from the rib, loin, sirloin and shoulder. You can pretty much use any type of lamb chops for this recipe.
Just a couple of notes to consider, if you do use other cuts:
Shoulder chop:
The shoulder chop is generally a less expensive cut of meat and more economical. Because they have a tougher muscle structure, they take a longer amount of time to cook and get tender, bear this in mind if you are using shoulder chops.
Rib chop:
The rib chop is more delicate, not as meaty and fattier than your loin chop and therefore because they are basically smaller and thinner they won’t take as long to cook. For the best results though, I personally wouldn’t go with this cut if you can go with another option!
Related Recipes
Related Posts
Authentic Lamb Chops Curry (Bengali Style)
This slow-cooked traditional lamb chops curry is my mothers all-time classic in our Bengali family. Admittedly, this dish was a rarity and as it would often be for a special occasion. So, if you’re looking to make something indulgent as a treat for yourself or a loved one, you are in the right place! Honestly speaking, I have tried a few similar recipes, but this is the best ever, period.
Equipment
- 1 large saucepan you're going to want a saucepan relatively large for this, especially if you are using the same amount of lamb chops.
Ingredients
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 3 garlic
- ¾ ginger
- 2 cardamom cloves
- 2 cinnamon barks
- 2 bay leaf
- 1 handlful coriander
- 10 lamb loin chops
Spices / salt
- 1 and a half tsp salt
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
Instructions
Chopping
- Peel and wash around two medium sized carrots. After you are done peeling, you then want to chop them into medium sized chunks.
- Cut your red onions into long strips.
- Finely chop up around 3 – 4 cloves of garlic.
- Roughly chop up two tomatoes.
- Grind together, two cloves of garlic, a thumb of ginger (or less if you don’t like ginger that much) and two cardamom cloves.
- Separately, on a plate, assemble about two to three small cinnamon barks, two leaves of bay leaf.
- Chop up a handful of coriander (skip this if you do not like coriander / cilantro).
Carrots or preferred root vegetable of choice
- Add a tbsp of oil to a pan, allow that to heat up.
- Add your chopped carrots along with a tsp of salt and turmeric.
- Fry this on medium-high heat for around 10 minutes or so ensuring the turmeric, salt and carrots are well combined.
In your saucepan
- Add two to three tbsp of oil and when this heats up, add long sliced onions and garlic with a tsp of salt.
- Let this cook together for a minute or so and then add your lamb chops. We added around 10 lamb loin chops.
- Give this a mix with the onions and garlic on a high heat.
- Once mixed, place the lid on your pan and cover for around thirty minutes on a medium-high heat.
- The lamb should have released lovely juices and to that you want to add roughly a tsp of turmeric, chilli powder, curry powder, garam masala, cumin powder. Give this a good mix and cover again on a low-medium heat for around 20 minutes again.
- Now add your chopped tomatoes into the curry and cover until the tomatoes have melted into the gravy of the lamb chops.
- After those have melted, add in your crushed ginger, garlic, and cardamom alongside the cinnamon bark and the bay leaves. Cover and allow the fragrance to develop from all of those ingredients.
- When you smell the fragrance of the bay leaf and cinnamon, you can finally add in those fried carrots. Ensure you mix in the carrots with the lamb and cover for 20 minutes more.
- After 20 minutes is over, add a full glass of warm water to the pan, let that come to a bubble and take it off the heat. (Make sure also that your carrots are fully cooked through!)
- Rest for around 10 minutes or so before serving.
- Garnish with lots and lots of coriander (but skip if you don’t like cilantro / coriander obviously!) Serve with rice, naan or roti and enjoy!
Video
@brinsbites Welcome to part four of my seven part series! Can't believe i convinced my mum to film this with me. She’s a bit camera shy but she’s so sweet for helping me out with filming this (Truth be told, I needed her to show me the authentic version of this recipe!). When I tell you, this curry will single handedly bring you to a food heaven, I am not lying. I am so glad she’s taught me this traditional / authentic lamb curry recipe and I can’t wait to make sure it’s passed down in the generations to come. I personally don’t see this type of dish being appreciated enough, so please make it and let me know what you guys think. #lamb #lambrecipe #curry #curryrecipe
♬ original sound - BrinsBites
Notes
the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
Calories: 745kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 38gFat: 61gSaturated Fat: 27gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 167mgSodium: 621mgPotassium: 773mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 4675IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 81mgIron: 5mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
