Gordon Ramsay’s lamb curry recipe is minced lamb with potatoes and peas in a spiced tomato sauce, loaded with 3 teaspoons of garam masala, Kashmiri chilli powder and whole cardamom pods. It takes about 30 minutes from pan to plate because the mince cooks fast enough for a weeknight.
The recipe is from Quick and Delicious, where Ramsay says a “regular, slow-cooked lamb curry is out of the question” in the time frame, so he uses mince instead of shoulder. He recommends serving it with his aromatic saffron pilaf or “naan bread and chapattis to mop up the sauce.”
The spice level is what sets this apart from most quick lamb curries. Three teaspoons of garam masala is triple what most recipes use, and the Kashmiri chilli powder gives colour and warmth without the raw heat that regular chilli powder brings.
Gordon Ramsay’s Lamb Curry
Course: DinnerCuisine: Indian, BritishDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes25
minutes580
kcal35
minutesQuick minced lamb curry with potatoes and peas from Gordon Ramsay’s Quick and Delicious cookbook. Garam masala, Kashmiri chilli powder and cardamom pods in a spiced tomato sauce, ready in 30 minutes. Approximately 580 kcal per serving.
Ingredients
2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
5cm (2 in) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 tsp garam masala
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
4 cardamom pods
2 tbsp tomato purée
500g (1 lb 2 oz) minced lamb
500ml (17 fl oz) lamb stock
400g (14 oz) tin of chopped tomatoes
450g (1 lb) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
1 tbsp dried methi (fenugreek) leaves (optional)
200g (7 oz) frozen peas
Small handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 green chilli, finely sliced
Directions
- Fry the onions: Heat the ghee or oil in a large non-stick sauté pan over a high heat. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes until lightly golden brown.
- Add the aromatics: Add the garlic and ginger, stir for 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Toast the spices: Reduce the heat. Add the turmeric, garam masala, Kashmiri chilli powder and cardamom pods. Stir until aromatic, about 30 seconds.
- Cook the tomato purée: Add the tomato purée and stir for 1 minute to cook out the raw tartness.
- Brown the lamb: Add the mince and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Build the sauce: Pour in the stock and chopped tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the potatoes: Stir in the diced potatoes and methi leaves if using. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes over a high heat until the sauce has thickened and the potatoes are tender.
- Finish: Stir in the frozen peas and cook for 1 minute to warm through. Garnish with fresh coriander and sliced green chilli.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay use lamb mince instead of shoulder?
Speed. A slow-cooked lamb curry with shoulder needs 2 to 3 hours for the meat to break down. Mince skips all of that because it browns in minutes and absorbs the spices almost immediately. Ramsay designed this as a Quick and Delicious recipe, not a Sunday project.
The trade-off is texture. Shoulder gives you soft, falling-apart chunks that melt into the sauce over hours. Mince gives you a drier, more crumbly curry that cooks in 25 minutes. Both are lamb curry, just different approaches to the same dish.
Why is there so much garam masala?
Three teaspoons is triple what most curry recipes call for, and it’s deliberate. Garam masala is a warm spice blend, not a hot one, so more of it deepens the flavour without adding heat. The Kashmiri chilli powder handles the warmth separately.
Ramsay also adds whole cardamom pods on top of the garam masala, which already contains cardamom. That double hit of cardamom is what gives this curry its fragrant, almost perfumed quality that you don’t get from a single teaspoon of generic curry powder.
What should you serve with this curry?
Ramsay suggests his aromatic saffron pilaf from the same book, or “naan bread or chapattis to mop up the sauce.” His naan bread is the easiest pairing because you can make the dough while the curry simmers, and his pilau rice is the closest thing to the saffron pilaf he recommends.
Something fresh on the side helps cut through the richness. His carrot salad works well because the acidity and crunch balance the heavy spiced sauce. A simple cucumber raita does the same job if you want something cooler.
What are methi leaves and can you skip them?
Methi is dried fenugreek leaves, sold in most supermarkets near the spice aisle or in Indian and Middle Eastern shops. They add a slightly bitter, earthy flavour that rounds out the sweetness of the tomatoes and the warmth of the garam masala.
Ramsay says to “leave them out if you can’t get hold of them,” so the curry works without them. But if you find a bag, they keep for months in the cupboard and transform any tomato-based curry. Crush them between your palms before adding to release the oils.
Can you use this mince for other lamb dishes?
The same 500g of lamb mince works in Ramsay’s shepherd’s pie, where it gets browned hard with leeks and red wine instead of spices. His lamb burger from Ramsay in 10 takes it another direction with za’atar and harissa yoghurt.
In Ultimate Home Cooking, he shapes lamb mince into koftas with mint and yoghurt dressing instead of cooking it loose. One packet of mince, four completely different dinners depending on the spices and the method.
