Laal Maas

A fiery Rajasthani lamb curry in a deep red chilli and garlic sauce, enriched with ghee.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 2h 15m
Cook: 1h 40m
Total: 3 hours 55 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 1kg lamb shoulder, bone in, cut into 5cm pieces
  • 200g natural yoghurt
  • 2 tbsp garlic paste
  • 1 tbsp fresh root ginger paste
  • 1 tsp salt, for the marinade
  • 12 dried Kashmiri red chillies, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
  • 5 tbsp ghee
  • 2 black cardamom pods
  • 6 green cardamom pods
  • 4 cloves
  • 5cm cinnamon stick
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 onions, finely sliced
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 400ml hot water

Method

  1. Mix the lamb with the yoghurt, garlic paste, ginger paste and 1 tsp salt. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

  2. Drain the soaked chillies and blend to a smooth paste with 3 tbsp of the soaking water.

  3. Heat the ghee in a heavy casserole over a medium heat. Add the black and green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves and cook for 30 seconds.

  4. Add the onions and cook for 12 minutes until deep golden. Add the lamb with its marinade and fry on a high heat for 10 minutes until the yoghurt has reduced and the lamb is browned.

  5. Stir in the chilli paste, coriander, cumin, turmeric and salt and fry for 5 minutes until the ghee separates and floats on the surface.

  6. Add the hot water, bring to a simmer, cover and cook on a low heat for 1 hour 15 minutes until the lamb is tender and the sauce is thick and glossy.

  7. Serve with bajra roti, chapatis or plain rice.