This lamb saag recipe will get you restaurant quality results.
I have a restaurant style lamb saag recipe in my cookbook ‘The Curry Guy Bible’ which I love demonstrating at my cooking classes.
This recipe is similar to that one but in the book the recipe serve 4 or more as part of a multi-course meal. Here I show how to make it as a curry house portion to serve 1 – 2 people.
This lamb saag is amazing with plain Basmati rice or flavoured Basmati rice. You might also like to try it with naans or chapatis. Don’t forget the homemade dal and samosas! You might also like to serve this with homemade poppadoms and a selection of chutneys and raitas.
Give this a try! It’s even better with a cold beer by the Fourpure Brewing Company!
Prepared ingredients and substitutes for lamb saag.
So this is a lamb saag just like the recipe in my cookbooks. You could however try other main ingredients.
Just like when you go out for a curry and see saag on the menu, you could add something else such as chicken, paneer, king prawns, beef… Whatever sound good to you.
As this is a curry house style recipe, you will need to make a base sauce first. This is really easy and great to have on hand for that last minute curry craving. Here is one of my recipes.
I usually make a large batch and freeze what I don’t use. It freezes really well.
You will also need to pre-cook your lamb. Authentic lamb saag curries are made by slowly simmering the lamb until it is tender.
Restaurants don’t usually have that much time so they use pre-cooked lamb. You might like to try my stewed lamb recipe or this lamb tikka.
For this lamb saag recipe I used leftover roast leg of lamb.
It is always a good idea to get your ingredients together before starting cooking.
Following are a few pics I took of the cooking process…
Heat the oil in your pan over medium high heat. Fry the chopped onions for about 5 minutes and then stir in the garlic and ginger paste. Fry for a further 30 seconds.
Stir in the chopped coriander (cilantro) stems.
Add the ground spices.
Stir it all up well.
Add the tomato puree and bring to a simmer.
Then add a ladle or two of the base sauce and bring to a simmer. Only stir if the sauce is sticking to the pan.
Add the pre-cooked lamb to the pan.
Stir to coat the lamb with the sauce. Add more base sauce if the curry is looking dry.
Stir in the spinach puree.
Stir in the spinach and add the yoghurt.
Add the dried fenugreek (methi). Then season with salt to taste to serve.
If you like this lamb saag curry recipe, you might like to try some of these too. No base sauce required…
Railway Curry
Lamb Curry
Keralan Lamb Curry
Stir Fried Lamb
Coconut Lamb
Pre Cooked Lamb
So good!
Dig in!
You will find many spicy and delicious recipes on my blog. Here are some you’ve got to try!
- Curry house style base sauce – Make a curry just like those at the best curry houses using this sauce.
- Lamb Bhuna from Scratch – This one is from my book ‘The Curry Guy One Pot’
- One Pot Chicken Dhansak – from my book ‘The Curry Guy One Pot
- Asian Honey Glazed Baked Salmon
- Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry
- Peruvian Chicken – Pollo a la Brasa
- Korean Braised Beef Stew
- Dal Makhani – An Indian restaurant favourite!
- Tonkotsu Broth – When only the best will do. This one takes some time but it is just like you find at the best ramen restaurants!
- Tonkotsu Ramen – Use that homemade tonkotsu broth in this ramen!
- The Best Butter Chicken – Try it and you’ll agree.
- Authentic Saag Recipe – This is so good
- Thai Beef Green Curry – Authentic recipe with homemade curry paste
- Air Fryer Chicken Biryani
- Cajun Mac and Cheese – The creamiest mac on the planet!
- One Pot Chicken Vindaloo
- Chicken 65 – One of my favourites. You might also like to try this air fryer chicken 65.
- One Pot Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry
- Homemade Sriracha Sauce – So much better than any sriracha you can purchase!
- Tandoori Chicken Tikka – Homemade is alway best and this recipe gets restaurant quality results.
Have you tried this lamb saag recipe?
If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.
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How To Make Lamb Saagwala - An Indian Restaurant Favourite
Ingredients
- 110g (1/4 lb) baby spinach leaves
- 3 green bird's eye chillies - roughly chopped
- 1 handful coriander (cilantro) leaves
- 2 tbsp ghee or rapeseed (canola) oil
- 1/2 onion - finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
- 1 tbsp coriander (cilantro) stalks
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tbsp mixed powder
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
- 250ml (1 cup) base sauce
- 300g (11oz) pre-cooked lamb
- 1 tbsp plain natural yoghurt
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Start by preparing the spinach. Place all of the spinach, chillies, coriander and lime juice in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste. You may need to add just a bit of water to do this. Set aside.
- Now heat the ghee/oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium heat.
- When hot, add the chopped onions and fry for about 15 minutes until translucent and soft but not overly browned.
- Add the ginger and garlic pastes and allow to sizzle for about 30 seconds.
- Add the ground spices and stir to combine..
- Stir in the tomato puree and bring to a simmer. Then add a ladle or two of the base sauce and bring to a simmer, only stirring if it is sticking to the pan.
- Stir in the lamb and ensure it is covered in the bubbling sauce. Then stir in the spinach puree.
- Cook for a couple of minutes and then stir in the yoghurt.
- Check for seasoning and add the salt to taste.
- Stir in the lemon juice and sprinkle with the garam masala and dried fenugreek and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 408Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 680mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 5gSugar: 18gProtein: 15g
Dee
Monday 30th of October 2023
Hello, I am going to attempt this for my guy. I've never cooked Indian cuisine of any kind before. I'm pretty good at following recipe directions and being fairly successful. Please, what are the "2 tbsp mixed powder" ? The link brings me to the curry base gravy recipe and I don't find any mixed powder recipe. Thank you, Dee
Dan Toombs
Wednesday 1st of November 2023
You can buy mixed powder in Asian shops but if you want to make it yourself here’s my recipe.
https://greatcurryrecipes.net/2020/04/26/mixed-powder/
Beatrice
Saturday 21st of January 2023
Greetings from British Columbia. You use precooked lamb in this recipe. If using uncooked, would you braise in all the ingredients or add the spinach puree (and the finishing touches) after the lamb was cooked?
Dan Toombs
Monday 23rd of January 2023
I would add the finished spinach purée and the finishing touches after the lamb is cooked. It will take a while to cook the lamb until it’s tender so you don’t want to cook the other ingredients for that long. Thanks Dan
Michael
Wednesday 5th of October 2022
Can you tell me how you precook the lamb? I just made this in an instapot and the saag itself was great, but the lamb turned out like rubber.
Dan Toombs
Thursday 13th of October 2022
Here is my recipe for pre cooked meat which works really well
https://greatcurryrecipes.net/2013/05/29/pre-cooked-lamb/
Thanks Dan
Mark
Friday 28th of January 2022
I would love to make this, but the "mixed powder" link takes me to a base curry mix. What is the "mixed powder"? Thanks
Dan Toombs
Saturday 29th of January 2022
Here is my recipe for mixed powder
https://greatcurryrecipes.net/2020/04/26/mixed-powder/
Jen
Saturday 18th of September 2021
Thank you for this recipe, it was one of the best curries I’ve had! Worth the effort, 10/10
Dan Toombs
Friday 24th of September 2021
Thank you for letting me know, I am very pleased you enjoyed it so much. Dan