This Instant Pot Lamb Curry recipe is an easy twist on traditional Indian mutton curry that you can make in your slow cooker or Instant Pot. It’s a flavorful, protein-rich, veggie-filled comfort food meal that requires minimal prep time and has a total time of less than an hour. Serve it over jasmine rice, basmati rice, or cauliflower rice for a dinner that’s delicious the first time and also makes wonderful leftovers.
Recipe Highlights: Indian Lamb Curry
There’s a lot to love about this Lamb Curry recipe, including:
- An easy, flavorful weeknight meal that’s high in protein and full of veggies
- Cooking in a pressure cooker or slow cooker locks in moisture and creates fork-tender meat
- A hands-off recipe with a cook time of 30 minutes in the Instant Pot or 4-8 hours in the slow cooker
- Contains all the warm, comforting flavors of Indian food, including a boost of anti-inflammatory spices
A Mostly Hands-off Lamb Curry Recipe
We love to mix up our dinner rotation from time to time, swapping out chicken and beef options with lamb recipes like this Instant Pot Lamb Curry. Inspired by traditional mutton curry, our version offers all the warm, inviting flavors you expect in Indian curry and it’s made with simple ingredients for a filling and nutritious meal. It’s so tasty that we often find ourselves needing to make multiple batches to ensure we have plenty of leftovers for the week! This homemade curry recipe is an easy way to make your weeknight dinners colorful and delicious. Plus, it’s a family-friendly meal that can be ready in less time than it takes takeout to arrive.
What Is Lamb Curry Made Of?
Here’s what you need to make this Lamb Curry recipe:
- Olive oil – may sub avocado oil or ghee
- Lamb stew meat – may sub chopped boneless lamb shoulder, leg of lamb, or lamb shanks. We do not recommend using bone-in lamb for this recipe. To find high-quality grass-fed New Zealand lamb meat, use this store locator
- Yellow onion – you’ll need one medium yellow onion; may sub white onion
- Carrots – you’ll need three medium carrots peeled and sliced into rounds
- Diced tomatoes – use one 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, and be sure to drain and reserve the juices
- Garlic cloves – cloves of garlic offer a more complex flavor than garlic powder, but you can definitely substitute garlic powder in a pinch
- Fresh ginger – fresh ginger is recommended, but you can use 1 teaspoon of dried ginger if that’s what you have
- Curry powder – it’s important to use quality curry powder that isn’t outdated. Outdated spices will result in a bland curry
- Yukon gold potatoes – we love the tender texture and buttery flavor of gold potatoes, but russet potatoes can also be used for a similar taste and a good boost of potassium and vitamin C
- Canned full-fat coconut milk – full-fat coconut milk gives this curry a nice rich mouthfeel, but you can substitute light coconut milk to reduce the total fat, if desired
- Zucchini
- Lime juice – used to brighten all the flavors. Freshly squeezed lime juice is best, but bottled varieties can be substituted or you can use a squeeze of lemon juice instead
- Cilantro
- Salt and black pepper
For the complete directions and ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below. All of our recipes include the nutrition information, listing calories (kcal), protein, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar, sodium, total fat, and more per serving.
How To Make Instant Pot Indian Lamb Curry
Here’s how to make this Lamb Curry recipe in a handful of simple steps:
- Saute the meat: Select the “‘Saute’ function on the Instant Pot. Once the pot is hot, generously grease the bottom with cooking oil spray. Add part of the olive oil along with half of the lamb meat. Season the lamb with a sprinkle of salt, and allow it to cook until it is browned on both sides. Transfer the meat to a plate, and repeat, searing the rest of the lamb, and transferring it to a plate.
- Cook the veggies: Spray the bottom of the pot with cooking spray again, and add the onions, carrots, and drained diced tomatoes. Cook until the onions begin to soften, stirring often.
- Season: Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Allow the mixture to cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
- Combine and cook: Add the seared lamb pieces back to the pot along with the potatoes, reserved tomato juice, and coconut milk. Stir to combine, lock the lid in place, and set the valve to the ‘Sealing’ position. Cook at high pressure. Then, when the cooking time is up, quickly release the steam, and open the lid.
- Add the remaining ingredients: Cancel the cooking cycle, and select the ‘Saute’ function again. Gently stir in the zucchini, and continue to cook until it is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in the lime juice, press ‘Cancel’, and allow the curry to cool before ladling it into bowls. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro for garnish, and enjoy!
Make This In Your Slow Cooker Instead
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, this recipe can also be made in a crockpot. Here’s how:
- Saute the seasoned lamb stew meat in a skillet until browned.
- In a slow cooker, place the stew meat plus all of the remaining ingredients, except for the zucchini and lime juice.
- Slow cook on low heat for 8 hours or on high heat for 4 hours. When there is 1 hour of cooking time left, stir the ingredients and add the zucchini.
- Remove the lid and stir in the lime juice. Serve and enjoy!
See the recipe card Notes section below for the full slow cooker directions.
How Is Lamb Curry Served?
This Lamb Curry recipe is so delicious served over brown rice, jasmine rice, or cauliflower rice in order to soak up all the leftover sauce. And, you can’t go wrong by adding a side of naan bread or pita bread for soaking up all the curry goodness! Garnish servings with chopped fresh cilantro and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt for extra creaminess (plus a boost of potassium and calcium).
How To Store And Reheat Leftovers
Leftover Lamb Curry can be transferred to an airtight container and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. For a longer-lasting option, you can also freeze leftover curry for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to eat, thaw your Lamb Curry in the fridge overnight, and warm it in a slow cooker set to ‘warm’ or in a pot on the stovetop over low heat or medium heat. Alternatively, you can heat individual portions in 30-second intervals in the microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend using lamb stew meat for this Instant Pot Lamb Curry recipe, which is chopped lamb meat that typically comes from either the leg or shoulder of the lamb.
Two tips: Create a flavorful base by searing the meat and sautéing the onions first. Also, make sure you’re using fresh, whole spices (or a high-quality curry powder) to get a rich, deep, and well-rounded curry flavor.
The original lamb curry recipe (first known as lamb mutton) can be traced back to the British Raj where it was served in the first class cars on the Indian railway. According to historians, the original dish was deemed too spicy by British passengers, and chefs from India cooled it down by adding a dollop of Greek yogurt.
Lamb meat and goat meat are two different sources of protein. Goat meat tends to have a milder, slightly sweeter flavor than lamb meat which is often described as being rich and gamey in taste.
Common substitutions for lamb meat include goat, beef, and pork.
Lamb is a type of red meat that comes from young domestic sheep in their first year whereas mutton is lamb meat that comes from adult sheep. Lamb and mutton are both terms used to describe lamb meat on menus and in recipes and can be used interchangeably in this curry.
It’s hard to find two curry recipes that are exactly the same since every chef puts their own spin on the ingredients and spice mix included. Ingredients often found in lamb curry recipes are curry powder, ground coriander, turmeric powder, ground cumin, chili powder, garam masala, cayenne, paprika, green cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, red chili peppers, and bay leaves.
No, the cooking process will lock in moisture and flavor, eliminating any need to marinate the meat first.
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Instant Pot Lamb Curry
Nothing satisfies quite like a bowl of so-flavorful lamb curry with vegetables. Using the Instant Pot gives you tender meat and veggies in very little time, but you can also cook this recipe low and slow in a crockpot with equally delicious results.
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided (may substitute avocado oil)
- 1 lb. lamb stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained and juices reserved
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (may substitute ½ teaspoon dried ground ginger)
- 1 ½ tablespoons curry powder
- 12 ounces baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved (or quartered if on the larger side)
- 1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons or quarters
- Juice of 1 medium lime (about 2 tablespoons)
- Chopped fresh cilantro (optional for garnish)
- Cooked rice or cauliflower rice (optional for serving)
- Fine salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Select the ‘Saute’ function on the Instant Pot. When the pot is hot, spray the bottom generously with cooking spray. Add ½ teaspoon olive oil and ½ of the lamb meat. Sprinkle the meat with salt and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Stir and continue cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes or until browned. Remove meat to a plate and repeat, using more cooking spray, remaining ½ teaspoon olive oil, and the remaining lamb. Remove lamb to a plate and set aside.
- Spray the bottom of the pot with cooking spray then add the onions, carrots, and drained diced tomatoes. Saute for 3-4 minutes or until the onions start to soften, stirring often.
- To the Instant Pot, add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper and saute for an additional minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the lamb back to the pot along with the potatoes, reserved tomato juice, and coconut milk. Stir well.
- Lock the lid into place and set the valve to ‘Sealing’ position. Cook for 14 minutes at high pressure. (Note: It will take about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to pressurize before the cooking time starts). When the cooking time is up, quickly release the steam and open the lid.
- Cancel the cooking cycle and select the ‘Saute’ function again.
- Add the zucchini and stir gently. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the zucchini is tender (but not mushy). Stir in the lime juice. Press ‘Cancel’ and allow the curry to cool for 5-10 minutes before ladling into bowls over rice or cauliflower rice. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro if desired and serve.
- Leftovers may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. For longer storage, transfer the chilled curry to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 6 months.
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Notes
Slow Cooker Directions
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, spray generously with cooking spray. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and all of the lamb meat. Sprinkle the meat with salt and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Stir and continue cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes or until browned. Remove meat and place in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- To the lamb in the slow cooker, add the onions, carrots, diced tomatoes (and their juices), garlic, ginger, curry powder, potatoes, and coconut milk. Stir well to combine then place the lid on the slow cooker.
- Cook on low heat for 8 hours (or high heat for 4 hours). Add the zucchini when there is 1 hour of cooking time left (3 ½ hours if cooking on high) and stir well. Replace the lid and continue cooking until the zucchini is tender.
- Remove the lid and stir in the lime juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Leftovers may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. For longer storage, transfer the chilled curry to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 6 months.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/4 recipe (1 1/2 cups)
- Calories: 415
- Fat: 20 g
- (Sat Fat: 10 g)
- Sodium: 245 mg
- Carbohydrate: 29 g
- (Fiber: 5 g
- Sugar: 10 g)
- Protein: 29 g
- Cholesterol: 81 mg
Dietary
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The photos in this blog post were taken by Rachel Cook of Half Acre House.
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How can I adjust this recipe for a 3 quart due 7 in 1?
Hi Pat,
You don’t need to adjust anything for the smaller Instant Pot. As long as the ingredients don’t exceed the ‘Max’ fill line inside the pot you can cook it according to the directions in the recipe.
I really want to make this recipe but I want to use lamb shanks and if possible no tomatoes. Any advice?
You can use lamb shanks and probably not need to increase the cooking time. As for the tomatoes, you could leave them out and add an additional cup of water or broth (this is just a guess).
Hi! The flavors are great and it was super duper simple.
However, i followed the recipe exactly and it came out SUPER watery. Like more watery than soup.
I didn’t have arrowroot powder…so I sauteed for over an hour and still watery. The lamb was of great consistency when i first started sauteeing, but by the end…it was just mush.
I think I should have probably reduced much more BEFORE adding the zucchini since it added so much water.
This dish was so delicious and easy to make!
Wow. This is really, really good. Followed the recipe exactly, except I only had one pound of lamb. Very tender, and the zucchini thickened up the broth just fine. My favorite instant pot curry recipe.
Delicious dish—we modified it heavily due to dietary restrictions: no butter, no tomatoes, and I had no zucchini available. We marinated the lamb as per the recipe. We used more carrots, onions and added 1 yam (which sweetened it up nicely). Also added about 1/2 c non-dairy yogurt. Since we didn’t have Garam masala, we used turmeric, a cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, saffron, S&P and bay leaves. We shortened the cooking time to 10 minutes and manually reduced the pressure. Then added a cup of rice and some water so that the rice would absorb the delicious flavors, we cooked under pressure for another 6 minutes and let the pressure reduce naturally. Tender and tasty! Great jumping off point for a yummy dinner, thanks!
That sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing.