Lamb Tikka Bhuna

This rich and aromatic lamb tikka bhuna combines tender chunks of lamb with a deeply spiced, thick sauce that's been slowly cooked to perfection. The bhuna method creates an intensely flavored dish where the spices are thoroughly cooked out and the sauce clings beautifully to the meat, delivering authentic Indian restaurant-quality results at home.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Curry

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 1 30

Total Time: 1 50

Servings:

Calories: 420kcal

Equipment

Chef's Knife

Chopping Board

Skillet

Ingredients

1 kg lamb chunks shoulder or leg
4 tbsp ghee or oil
1 large onion finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
200 g chopped tomatoes or 3 medium tomatoes roughly chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
2-3 green chilies chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
125 ml water or lamb stock
1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Kasoori methi dried fenugreek leaves
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander for garnish

Instructions

Heat half the ghee/oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and fry onions until soft and translucent. Add garlic-ginger paste and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add tomatoes and water/stock, simmer until tomatoes break down completely, then cool and blend until smooth.
Clean the pan and heat remaining ghee/oil. Add cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and bay leaves, frying until aromatic.
Add finely chopped onion and fry until golden brown and caramelized.
Add lamb chunks and brown on all sides with the onions, ensuring good color development.
Stir in tomato puree, green chilies, ground coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Cook for 2-3 minutes until spices are fragrant.
Pour in the blended tomato mixture and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low, cover partially, and simmer for 45-60 minutes until lamb is tender.
Stir in tamarind concentrate and continue cooking uncovered until sauce thickens and coats the lamb.
Add lemon juice and kasoori methi, season with salt, and garnish with fresh coriander.

Notes

For best results, use lamb shoulder as it becomes incredibly tender when slow-cooked and has good marbling for flavor.

The key to authentic bhuna is patience - cook the onions until properly caramelized and allow the sauce to reduce naturally.

If the sauce becomes too thick during cooking, add small amounts of hot water or stock to maintain consistency.

Kasoori methi can be substituted with fresh fenugreek leaves, but use sparingly as fresh leaves have a stronger flavor.

This dish tastes even better the next day as flavors continue to develop, making it perfect for meal prep.

For a milder version, remove seeds from green chilies or reduce the quantity according to taste preference.

Nutrition