This lamb methi is certain to get gobbled up!
Cooking meat on the bone in curries is not done very often in British Indian restaurant (BIR) style cooking. Mainly because it is more difficult to prepare and eat. If you’re cooking these curries at home, however you will enjoy the extra flavour it adds to your meals.
This is how my son and I decided to cook a large lamb methi curry over the weekend. Normally I would use pre-cooked meat for my restaurant style lamb methi but as we were making the curry for a large group and had hours to do it, we decided to go all out.
We purchased a leg of lamb and we went to work on it. My butcher gave me his meat cleaver when he retired which made the job a lot easier. We took turns chopping away at the leg cutting it into two inch sections.
Once this was done, we roasted the leg parts in the oven which was set to the highest setting and browned the meat for about 40 minutes
I like to serve this lamb methi curry with fresh naans like this recipe I learned at Sachins in Newcastle.
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How To Make British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Style Lamb Methi

This is a homemade version of what you might get at a popular Indian restaurant. My ebook shows you how it's done in a busy restaurant kitchen!
Ingredients
- 1 kilo (2 lbs.) lamb shoulder - cut off the bone into bite sized pieces - retaining the bone
- 125ml tablespoon ghee or vegetable oil
- 2 onions - finely chopped
- 1/2 carrot - grated
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 tablespoon red chilli powder (More or less to taste)
- 1 tablespoon garlic puree
- 1 tablespoon ginger puree
- 250ml (1 cup) chopped tomatoes
- 1 small bunch fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves or 5 tablespoons tried methi leaves
- 2 tabelspoons plain yogurt
- 3 tabelspoons chopped coriander leaves
- Juice of on lime
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
Instructions
- Heat the ghee/oil in a large pan or wok.
- When hot, throw in the sliced onions and fry for about 15 minutes stirring continuously so that the onions become soft and translucent but not browned.
- Sprinkle in a pinch of salt - this will help release some of the liquid from the onions - and fry for a further minute or two.
- Now add the, grated carrot, and the garlic and ginger purees and stir to combine.
- Pour in the cumin powder, coriander powder, curry powder and the red chilli powder.
- Stir all the ingredients and then add the chopped tomatoes, the meat and bones and just enough water to cover.
- Cover and simmer for at least one hour until the meat is nice and tender. Don't rush this stage! If it takes longer, then so be it.
- Once the meat is tender, add the turmeric along with the methi leaves followed by the yogurt one teaspoon at a time. It is import to stir the yogurt in slowly or it will curdle.
- Let simmer for a further five minutes before adding the chopped coriander and the garam masala.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the lime juice and serve with white rice or naans.
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Thanks. 🙂
Christine Casey-King
Saturday 3rd of December 2022
Hi Dan I would like to add potatoes to this dish Wouid I need to add more fluid ….what is the best way to do this?
Dan Toombs
Wednesday 7th of December 2022
I would just part boil some chopped potatoes and add them for the last 10 minutes of cooking time. I don't think you should need any more liquid. Thanks Dan
Linda Kachur
Sunday 21st of March 2021
I tried this recipe and added green cardamon pods for more punch. Be sure to remove the shells and ensure it is well desolved within. I think it could use a touch more sweetness. As this is an Indian curry, I might suggest a a tablespoon of currents. I also would like more body in with the meat mixture and would suggest grating tomatoes with cashew nuts, about a 1/4 cup. This mean is wonderful and there are variances that can be explored.
Dan Toombs
Monday 22nd of March 2021
Yes, as I always say, adapt the recipes to your own tastes, it is great to play around with them a bit. Thanks Dan
Linda Kachur
Tuesday 17th of November 2020
Lamb Methdi is my all time favorite restaurant dish which I vow to master. Can I use ground coriander instead of the leaves and how little should I use of it? And, are dried cilantro similar in taste with coriander leaves?
Dan Toombs
Wednesday 18th of November 2020
Hi Yes - if you can only get ground coriander then use that. Use a few teaspoons and then taste to see if it needs more. Same with dried coriander - give it s ago as they would be better than no coriander. Thanks Dan
Andy
Friday 23rd of November 2018
I changed one part. I browned the lamb to the point of caramelized. Then continued. Absolutely delicious.
Dan Toombs
Thursday 29th of November 2018
Great to hear Andy. Thank you.
Dan
JILL
Saturday 13th of October 2018
IF I AM UNABLE TO GET FRESH METHI IS IT SUITABLE TO USE METHI SEED (DRIED) AND HOW MUCH SHOULD I USE. MANY THANKS
Dan Toombs
Monday 14th of January 2019
Hi Jill
I'd use spinach and then spice it up with fenugreek powder to taste. It will give the curry a very similar flavour and appearance.
Hope this helps, Dan