This Hairy Bikers lamb curry from Meat Feasts is a proper saag that braises lamb in a pounded spice and spinach paste. And it serves six in about three hours at around 445 calories, which is low for a curry this rich because the spinach does most of the work.
Dave called this one his favourite curry in the headnote, and the reason is the two-stage spinach method. So half gets blitzed into a green paste with the fried onions and spices for the sauce. Then the rest goes in raw at the end, which gives you both a smooth base and fresh leaves in the same bowl.
Most saag recipes use shop-bought curry powder, but this one pounds whole cardamom, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and cinnamon fresh. Since those whole spices release their oils the moment you crush them, the flavour hits differently from anything that came out of a jar.
Hairy Bikers Lamb Curry Recipe
Description
Dave’s favourite curry from Meat Feasts where lamb braises in a spinach and whole spice paste made from pounded cardamom, cumin seeds and mustard seeds, with half the onions and spinach stirred in at the end for fresh texture.
Ingredients
For the Lamb Curry:
Instructions
- Slow-fry the onions: Heat three tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and cook the onions gently for about twenty minutes until softened and golden brown. Transfer half to a plate and set aside for later.
- Pound the spices: While the onions cook, split the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar and scrape the seeds back in. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and cinnamon stick and grind to a fine dry powder.
- Build the spice base: Stir the chillies and garlic into the remaining onions in the pan and cook for three minutes. Add the pounded spices, ground coriander and turmeric, then fry for two minutes, stirring the whole time. Add 300g of the spinach, cover and cook for two to three minutes until wilted.
- Blitz the paste: Tip the spiced onion and spinach mixture into a food processor and blend to a thick green paste. Set aside.
- Brown the lamb: Wipe the pan, add the remaining oil and season the lamb well. Brown the meat in two or three batches over a medium-high heat until nicely coloured on all sides, then transfer to a flameproof casserole dish.
- Braise: Preheat the oven to 160°C/Fan 140°C/Gas 3. Stir the green paste into the casserole with the lamb, add the bay leaf, tomato puree and 800ml of cold water. Season with a teaspoon of salt, stir well and bring to a simmer. Press crumpled baking parchment onto the surface, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for two to three hours until the lamb is very tender and the sauce is thick.
- Finish: Stir in the reserved onions and the remaining 200g of spinach. Cover with the lid and put back in the oven for fifteen to twenty minutes until the onions are hot and the spinach has wilted. Serve with rice or warm naan.
FAQs
Can I use lamb instead of mutton?
The original recipe in Meat Feasts calls for mutton because Dave says it “gives a richer, deeper flavour” with the iron-rich spinach. But lamb works perfectly and is much easier to find, so this version uses lamb leg or shoulder cut the same way.
Shoulder has more fat and falls apart into softer pieces, while leg stays firmer and leaner. Both braise well over two to three hours, and the spinach paste coats either cut the same way.
Is there a quicker version?
The Hairy Dieters Make It Easy book has a Green Lamb Curry at just 267 calories that uses shop-bought curry powder instead of whole spices and cooks on the hob in about two hours. It is the same idea but stripped back for a weeknight, and Si and Dave say it is “inspired by our favourite saag gosht.”
The trade-off is flavour depth. Whole spices pounded fresh give this Meat Feasts version a warmth that curry powder cannot match, but the Dieters version is genuinely good when you do not have time to pound cardamom or wait for a three-hour oven braise.
Why does this use two batches of spinach?
The first 300g gets cooked with the spiced onions and blitzed into a green paste that becomes the braising sauce. That gives the curry its colour and body. The remaining 200g goes in raw at the very end and wilts into fresh leaves that sit on top.
Putting all the spinach in at the start would give you a smooth sauce but no texture. Putting it all in at the end would give you leaves but no green base. Once you try it both ways, you will not go back to dumping all the spinach in at once.
Can I make this in a slow cooker?
Build the spice paste and brown the lamb on the hob as written, then transfer everything to the slow cooker with the paste, tomato puree and water. Cook on low for six to eight hours until the lamb is tender.
Stir in the reserved onions and fresh spinach for the last 30 minutes on high so the spinach wilts but keeps its colour. The baking parchment trick is not needed in a slow cooker because the sealed lid holds enough moisture on its own.
How does this compare to a vindaloo?
The lamb vindaloo from the same book is a completely different curry. The vindaloo uses a red wine vinegar marinade, a double onion paste and potatoes for a hot, sharp, Goan-style dish. This saag is gentler, built on spinach and whole spices for a deeper, warmer heat.
If you want both on the table, they work well together because the vindaloo is acidic and fiery while this is creamy and earthy. And if you want the Indian spicing without any curry at all, the lamb shoulder from the same book uses yoghurt and curry powder as a roasting marinade instead.
