This Lamb Leg Curry is extremely flavorful and will become your new favorite meal prep! The recipe makes about 16 portions so two people can eat it for the entire week. The curry is very tomatoey, creamy, and spicy, and the meat falls apart in your mouth.
I did not see many whole lamb leg recipes on Google so I decided to make my own. My secret is roasting the lamb bone and making my own lamb stock which amplifies the lamb taste tenfold.
Deboning the lamb leg
The first step is to debone the lamb. I'm not an expert butcher and you don't have to be one for this recipe. I just used a sharp knife to cut off large chunks of the meat until mostly bone was left.
As you can see from the picture above, the pieces do not have to be perfect. My cuts were a mix-match of cubes, triangles, and big and small pieces. I also left a good amount of meat on the bone to flavor the stock.
Roasting the bone
Once, the lamb leg is deboned, you want to roast it to give it a deeper flavor. I decided to roast mine in my air fryer. My air fryer is pretty small so I had to cut the bone at the joint to separate it into two pieces.
I roasted the bone at 400°F for about 25 minutes. You can also roast it in the oven at 500°F. Just roast it until the leftover meat on the bone is charred and crispy.
Making the stock
After roasting the bone, it's time to make the lamb stock. Add the bone to the pot and fill it with water until the bone is completely submerged. I simmered mine for about 4 hours. If the water runs low during simmering, just add a little more. If after 4 hours, the water level is too high, you can boil it on high heat until it reduces in volume. You want to end up with about 4 cups of liquid.
Spices
For this recipe, you need a variety of spices: cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, and cardamom. Whole spices are always the best because they have a much better flavor.
For the cardamom, you can use either black or green cardamom. Black cardamom has a smokier aroma, but both have the same cardamom taste so you can use either. For whole cardamom, make sure you only use the seeds. I use my fingernails to break the shell apart and then shake out the seeds. Then I grind the seeds in a mortar and pestle.
Cooking Process
After making the stock, the rest of the cooking is very straightforward. First, sear the meat until there is some browning on both sides. This adds a ton of flavor to the outside of the meat.
You will need to do this in several batches. If the pot starts collecting burnt bits of meat at the bottom, add some water to deglaze it, then scrape off the bits with a spatula. Pour the scraped bits and water into the bowl of already-seared lamb. We want to keep the bits because they are full of flavor.
Give the pot a quick rinse. Then add oil, onions, and garlic, and cook until soft. Add the spices and cook for another minute. This is usually when my wife will walk into the kitchen and say something smells good.
Add the tomatoes, lamb, and stock and simmer for one and a half hours. This is the minimum amount of time necessary for the meat to become tender, but you can simmer for as long as three hours.
I like the curry to be on the thicker side so I add ground almonds (or cashews) for thickening. After that, add the cream and simmer for another 10 minutes. Finally, add the freshly squeezed lemon to brighten everything up.
Whole Lamb Leg Curry
Ingredients
- 1 whole leg of lamb
- ½ cup oil (divided)
- 2 large onions (chopped)
- 12 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (28-ounce/ 796mL)
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 8 cardamom pods (Remove the seeds from the pods. Grind the seeds into a fine powder and discard the pods)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ cup almonds (or cashews)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- juice from 1 lemon
Instructions
- Use a sharp knife to debone the lamb leg. Chop the meat into 2-inch chunks and reserve the bone. It's okay if there is some meat on the bone. See the blog post for pictures.
- Preheat your oven to 500°F or air-fryer to 400°F.
- Roast the bone for 20-25 minutes or until the bits of meat on the bone are charred and crispy. My bone did not fit in my air fryer so I had to cut it at the joint.
- Add the bone to a large soup pot. Fill it with enough water to cover the bone (about 10 cups) and simmer for 4 hours. If the water gets too low, add a little more water. After 4 hours, remove the bones and any leftover meat that came off the bones. You should have about 4 cups of stock. If you have more, just boil the stock until it reduces to about 4 cups. Set aside.
- In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add ⅓ of the meat and sear for 1 minute on each side until brown. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining meat in two more batches.
- Add the rest of the oil (about ⅓ of a cup) to the empty pot. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander, cardamom, and salt, and cook for another minute.
- Add the canned tomatoes, lamb, and lamb stock. Bring to boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for one and half hours.
- Use a spice grinder or food processor to grind the almonds into a fine powder. Add it to the curry and stir to thicken.
- Add the cream and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice and enjoy!
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