Learn how to make lamb curry at home. It’s full of tender meat and is deeply spiced, cooking all that goodness into the figs which also add a touch of sweetness.
The first thing is to make sure you have your mise en place prepared before cooking. “Mise en place” means “everything in its place, and is a practice that truly helps execute recipes as written. The mise en place is what is described in the ingredients section, so as in this example, pureeing the garlic and ginger ahead of time.
When it comes to figs, Indian cooking uses “anjeer” in a number of ways. We have a recipe that’s great around Diwali using the figs in coins for Anjeer Barfi, Fig Walnut Halwa, and Upside-Down Jaggery Fig Cake. For the savory recipe below, we suggest using either Sun-Maid or Orchard Choice California Dried Mission Figs. They have a fig fruit-forward flavor that pairs well with the bold spices of the curry.
Tips for How to Make Lamb Curry at Home
A key to awakening the spices is to “bloom” them, also known as tempering them. This is done by heating oil until shimmering and then adding in the spices. They will become fragrant and are a building block upon which the dish is made. This recipe below starts with caramelizing onion first. You’ll then stir in garlic and ginger, along with the ground spices.
For the lamb curry, use leg of lamb per the recipe below. Lamb shoulder would need to cook significantly longer as it’s a cut that’s better for braising. The leg of lamb is cut into medium-sized cubes. Cutting them to the same size means they will cook uniformly.
Other elements in the dish include fresh ginger and garlic along with the ground spices. One reason for that is that these aromatics often bring a different flavor when dried and ground versus fresh. Fresh ginger is floral and piquant, as an example. Jalapeños are called for in the recipe, but dried cayenne chiles that have been ground make a good substitute.
Fresh chopped tomatoes or crushed canned tomatoes add an umami quality to the sauce as well as texture.
What to Serve on the Side
Basmati rice is our go-to side dish.
Lamb Curry with California Figs and Fenugreek
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1 medium onion sliced thin
- 4 large cloves garlic pureed
- 1 piece fresh ginger 1 1/2 inches, peeled and pureed
- 1 ½ pounds boneless leg of lamb trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon table salt plus more to taste
- 3 plum tomatoes chopped, plus 1 tablespoon juice, or 2/3 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 jalapeño chile stemmed and cut in half through the stem end
- ¼ cup Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Figs chopped coarse
- 2-4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Heat oil in large deep skillet or soup kettle, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add onion to skillet; sauté until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, ginger, lamb, ground spices, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and tomatoes; cook, stirring almost constantly, until liquid evaporates, oil separates and turns orange, and spices begin to fry, 5 to 7 minutes, depending on skillet or kettle size. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until spices smell cooked, about 30 seconds longer.
- Add 2 cups water, jalapeño, and figs, and season with salt; bring to simmer. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until meat is tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Stir in cilantro. Simmer 3 minutes longer and serve.
Notes
Recipe source: America’s Test Kitchen. Valley Fig is a proud sponsor of the America’s Test Kitchen.
