Lamb Korma is an Indian Mughlai dish, in which lamb stew meat is braised in a cream based sauce and toasted Indian spices. The curry is simmered for hours to reach the perfect tenderness and rich flavor.
The word Korma or Kurma draws it’s origin from the Persian word Kormah, which literally means “braise”.
In this easy recipe for Lamb Korma, I braise the meat with aromatics in a creamy coconut sauce. I season the sauce with toasted garam masala, and pressure cook it to a melt-in-your-mouth perfection.
The flavors of the korma curry are developed by using the popular spice blend called Garam Masala
These flavors are infused in a yogurt, cream or coconut cream sauce. The meat is then simmered in this sauce for hours over slow heat, till it becomes tender and gets infused with all the flavors.
Cooking Lamb Korma in Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker)
In this recipe, I am able to mimic the slow-cooking setup by cooking this easy lamb korma in my electrical pressure cooker, Instant Pot
Pressure cooking the lamb helps infuse the spices with the meat, and the flavor is to die for. Also, I and am able to cut down the cooking time significantly.
To learn more about the instant pot and many more easy instant pot recipes, check out my Instant Pot FAQ and Accessories blog.
Customize your Lamb Korma
You can make the korma curry using three different cream bases- heavy cream, yogurt or coconut milk.
My family loves the taste of a coconut milk based sauce, so that’s what I end up making most of the time. Using coconut milk also makes this dish is dairy-free, so people with dairy restrictions can also enjoy this amazing curry.
Pairing Suggestion for Lamb Korma
Lamb korma and butter naan are a terrific Indian food combination. This lamb korma curry also goes really well with a homemade flatbread called, Parantha, naan, cumin rice or nutty brown rice. If you’re eating low-carb, you can have this with cauli-rice.
I serve this with a side of garden salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette. The salad adds a beautiful contrast to the creamy korma, and adds some greens to your meal too!
Make the Korma with Chicken or Beef
You can make this korma with chicken or beef too.
To make chicken korma, use boneless skinless chicken and reduce the cooking time to 5-6 minutes of high-pressure cooking.
For beef korma, use beef stew meat and increase the cooking time to 25-30 minutes of high pressure cooking, depending on the size of pieces.
Stovetop Recipe for Indian Lamb Korma
I mostly cook this lamb recipe in my electrical pressure cooker, Instant Pot
For a stovetop recipe, simply follow the instructions to make the sauce and simmer on medium heat for about 40-45 minutes, or till the meat is tender.
Keep stirring every 10 minutes to prevent the sauce from sticking at the bottom.
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Lamb Korma is an Indian Mughlai dish, wherein lamb stew meat is braised in a cream-based sauce & bold Indian spices and simmered for hours to reach perfection. In this recipe, I shorten the cooking time using the instant pot.
- 1 lb. lamb leg steak cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 tablespoon ginger-garlic grated (1 inch ginger + 6 cloves garlic)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup coconut milk or plain yogurt
- 3/4 cup water added in two steps
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 3 teaspoons garam masala adjust to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2 tablespoons cilantro fresh chopped for garnish
- 1/2 teaspoon lime juice before serving
Prep: Chop onions. Fine chop, grate or grind peeled ginger and garlic. You can do everything together in a mini food processor. Start by pulsing ginger and garlic 5-6 times and then add onions. Cube the lamb leg meat and keep aside.
- Turn on Instant Pot DUO in SAUTE mode. Wait 30 seconds. Add oil, chopped onions and ginger-garlic paste and saute for 1 minute. Smart Tip: You can add a pinch of salt at this stage to speed up the sweating of the onions. Add tomato paste with 1/4 cup of water. This deglazes the pot as well as helps blend the tomato paste. Add all spices and stir well.
Add coconut milk, rest of water and lamb cubes. Stir. Close the Instant Pot. Set valve to Sealing mode. Set Manual or Pressure Cook for 15 minutes. This time is perfect for the texture that my family likes, you can set it anywhere between 12-15 minutes, depending on how you like it.
Open the lid after 15 minutes of natural pressure release (NPR). Add chopped cilantro. You can add a few drops of fresh lime juice before serving, but this is totally an optional step. Serve it with Naan, Flatbread, Cumin basmati rice, Brown rice, or even Cauli-rice
For a stovetop recipe, simply follow the instructions to make the sauce and simmer on medium heat for about 40-45 minutes, or till the meat is tender.
Keep stirring every 10 minutes to prevent the sauce from sticking at the bottom.
Recipe Video
If you are new to the Instant Pot, please read my FAQ on Instant Pot Terminology and Accessories to learn more.
Note: The nutrition facts below are my estimates. If you are following any diet plan, I recommend cross-checking with your preferred nutrition calculator.
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12 Comments
TimT
March 9, 2018 at 9:58 amBrown rice is not low carb. It has nearly the same carb content and glycemic index numbers as white rice.
aneeshasg
March 9, 2018 at 10:10 amHi Tim, I buy both kinds, white Jasmine and Brown Jasmine from Trader Joe’s. Here is what the label says: White Jasmine Rice: Total Carbs: 42g, Fiber: 0g; Net Carbs= 42g. Brown Jasmine Rice: Total Carbs: 37g, Fiber: 3g, Net Carbs=34g. So per every serving, there is a saving of 8g of carbs in Brown rice as compared to White Rice. I agree with you that every kind of rice has carbs, perhaps I should say “lower” carb instead of “low” carb. Thanks for pointing that out.
aneeshasg
March 9, 2018 at 10:12 amAnd I do suggest cauli-rice as a low-carb option in this post.
Gery
March 13, 2018 at 3:32 pmHello, what is ginger-garlic?
Thanks. ..
aneeshasg
March 13, 2018 at 3:49 pmHi Gery, by that I meant ginger ‘and’ garlic. I have made some changes to the text, and hopefully it’s clearer now. For this recipe, I use about 2 tablespoons of fine-chopped, grated or ground, ginger & garlic, which is about an inch of peeled ginger, and about 6 cloves of peeled garlic. Hope that helps.
ben
March 21, 2018 at 8:28 pmThanks for this recipe- just made it and it tastes amazing. Super easy to follow. Definitely making this again. I might try to figure out how to make the sauce a touch thicker/creamier next time, but this is just a personal taste thing and definitely not a complaint. Nice one!
aneeshasg
March 21, 2018 at 8:52 pmYeah! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. You can skip the water next time. The lamb also releases some juices, so there should be enough liquid for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure.
M
April 11, 2018 at 3:59 pmHI! If I choose to use the yogurt instead of coconut milk, do I still add it at the same point in the recipe? Often, yogurt seems to curdle if added during pressure cooking in instapot so I see many recipes suggest adding it after the pressure cooking is done. Please let me know what you suggest with this recipe.
I’m excited to try and make this. I make a lot of your yummy recipes. Thanks!!
aneeshasg
April 11, 2018 at 4:07 pmHi M! So glad to hear that you’re enjoying my recipes, thanks for sharing that, it always makes my day! You can add yogurt instead of coconut milk, and add it at the same point. I beat/whisk yogurt to a smooth consistency and add it a tbsp at a time and stir. This tempers the yogurt and helps it blend with the onion and spices and prevents curdling. Check out the video in this recipe for clarity: https://spicecravings.com/no-cream-skinny-instant-pot-chicken-tikka-masala. Hope you love this Korma!
Michelle
May 10, 2018 at 1:01 amThanks Aneesha, this is a fantastic recipe. This one will be on high rotation in our house from now on!
aneeshasg
May 10, 2018 at 10:24 amYeah! It’s on repeat in my home too. My kids LOVE lamb Korma. I’m so glad you liked this recipe. Have you tried the lamb chops recipe? It’s not for pressure cooker, but a real quick stove-top or oven recipe: https://spicecravings.com/grilled-lamb-chops
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