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Lamb Shank Curry or Nalli Gosht

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Lamb shank curry or nalli gosht, a delicious recipe with a sense of indulgence, featuring instructions for cooking in a slow cooker and oven.

This dish originates from Indian Mughlai cuisine, known for boldly spiced and slow-cooked food making it perfect for lamb.

Lamb shank curry or nalli gosht served with pilau rice.

Nalli Gosht

Lamb shank is the ultimate in greedy guts indulgence for me and this recipe joins a slow cooker red wine lamb shank and a roasted minted lamb shank on my site.

This lamb shank recipe is built on another love of mine, curry! It is based on a Mughal dish called nalli gosht and it is special!

The shanks are marinated in yoghurt before being browned and then slowly cooked in a boldly flavoured sauce.

As far as I am concerned lamb is such a great meat to use in a curry, it’s big bold flavour and the quality and quantity of fat play so well with spices.

I have everything from lamb pasanda and lamb jalfrezi all the way through to lamb tikka masala and chicken Ceylon.

This special recipe is definitely built for showing off and will guarantee a very happy and very full belly!

Overhead close up lamb shank curry or nalli gosht served with pilau rice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it best to cook this in a slow cooker or in the oven?

They both result in a wonderful curry with little to choose between them, I tend to cook this in a slow cooker because it is cheaper!

Do I really need to marinade the lamb?

For me, yes!

I think that helps add both flavour and it also tenderises the lamb, it is a technique that I use in my achar gosht and lamb rogan josh!

Do I have to blend the sauce?

No, the sauce works well left unblended, but I do like a smoother sauce in this recipe personally speaking.

Can I use another cut of lamb?

This recipe is spectacular made with a shoulder of lamb!

Close up lamb shank curry or nalli gosht served with pilau rice.

Serving Suggestions

I’ve served this delicious lamb shank curry with a simple pilau rice, although something like onion rice or even plain rice would work equally well.

Flatbread is always closely associated with Indian food, and if I were to pair this recipe with one, then it would be chapatis or roti. The lamb is so tender that it will fall off the bone and be eaten with them wonderfully.

Another wonderful addition would be potatoes, either aloo methi or my roasted Bombay potatoes would work well.

This is a special curry and despite this being a large meal I usually go the whole hog and turn this into a real Indian feast.

As a result, I always cook some poppadoms, mint raita and kachumber salad too!

Overhead lamb shank curry or nalli gosht served with pilau rice.

Equipment Used

I only recommend specific brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

  • Large mixing bowl to marinade the lamb.
  • Cling film.
  • Slow cooker or a 24cm (10″) cooking pot with a lid and an oven.
  • Stovetop.
  • 28cm or 11″ frying pan.
  • Weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.
  • Chopping board.
  • Sharp kitchen knife.
  • Grater.
  • Blender.
  • Fine mesh sieve.
Slow Cooked lamb shank curry or nalli gosht served with pilau rice.
Yield: 2 Servings

Lamb Shank Curry or Nalli Gosht Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Marinade Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 10 hours 10 minutes

Nalli gosht is a deliciously spicy slwo cooked lamb shank curry with a yoghurt sauce that I blend until it is smooth.

Ingredients

  • 2 Lamb Shanks
  • 125g (½ Cup) Full Fat Yoghurt
  • 1 Tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder
  • ½ Tsp Cumin
  • ½ Tsp Coriander
  • ½ Tsp Salt
  • 2 Tbsp Cooking Oil
  • 300g (2 Cups) Onions
  • 1 Stick of Cinnamon
  • 6 Cardamom Pods
  • 2 Cloves
  • 30g (Thumb Sized Piece) Ginger
  • 6 Garlic Cloves
  • 6 Dried Kashmiri Chilli Peppers
  • 3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 1 Tbsp Gram Flour
  • 500ml Water
  • ½ Tsp Turmeric
  • ½ Tsp Ajwain Seeds
  • 1 Tsp Dried Mint
  • 1 Tbsp Dried Pomegranate Seeds

Instructions

  1. Place the yoghurt, chilli powder, cumin, coriander and salt in a bowl and mix to combine.
  2. Add the lamb shanks to the yoghurt mix and then massage the yoghurt into the meat, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, overnight is best.
  3. Heat a 28cm or 11" frying pan over a medium high heat and add the cooking oil.
  4. Scrape most of the marinade from the lamb shanks, brown them in the cooking oil on all sides, and transfer them to either a slow cooker or 24cm oven-safe cooking pot.
  5. Cut the onions in half, peel them and then cut them into 1cm thick half moon shapes.
  6. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and cloves to the oil. reduce the heat to medium and cook for a minute.
  7. Throw in the onions and cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally to remove any residue on the base of the pan as the onions release moisture.
  8. Peel and grate the ginger.
  9. Peel and mash the garlic cloves.
  10. Add the garlic, ginger and dried chilli peppers to the onions and cook for a minute.
  11. Add the tomato paste and the gram flour and cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally.
  12. Pour in the water and add the ground turmeric, pomegranate seeds, ajwain seeds and dried mint and bring to a boil. Stirring to ensure all of the residues from the base of the pan are incorporated into the sauce.
  13. Stir in the remaining marinade, have a taste and add more salt if required.
  14. Pour the sauce over the lamb shanks and cook for 5 hours on low in the slow cooker or for 2½ hours at 170°C or 340°F in the oven.
  15. Carefully remove the lamb shanks, then pick out the cinnamon stick, before blending the sauce until smooth, then pass through a fine mesh sieve.
  16. Place the lamb shanks back in the saucepan or slow cooker and pour over the sauce and cook for a final 30 minutes in the slow cooker or 15 minutes in the oven.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1457Total Fat: 78gSaturated Fat: 27gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 44gCholesterol: 481mgSodium: 1042mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 8gSugar: 23gProtein: 139g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Did you make this recipe?

If you made this recipe, I'd love to see what you did and what I can do better, share a picture with me on Instagram and tag me @krumplibrian and tell me how it went!

© Brian Jones
Cuisine: Anglo Indian / Category: Lamb Recipes

Hodgie

Saturday 9th of March 2024

This recipe produced a lovely meal. I made a couple of alterations:- I used 4 green cardamoms plus 4 black cardamoms, the green ones can overpower the taste. I left out the Ajwain (Lovage) as I don’t like the taste. I left out the Pomegranate Seeds as I’d run out. I added Poppy Seeds (Khaskhas) and Mustard Seeds (Rai). I used Cassia Bark instead of Cinnamon. The alterations were mostly due to availability. I used a Foodi and cooked for 2hrs on low (I had to go out) then 5hrs on high. I removed the shanks, chillis, black cardamoms and Cassia Bark. If it were only for my consumption I would have left in the chilli’s. I used a hand-blender to make the sauce smooth (you don’t need to chop the onions (at the start) too finely if you do this). The result was the best lamb shank curry I’ve made, and I’ve cooked a few. Thank you.

Brian Jones

Sunday 17th of March 2024

Glad you liked this, the additions/alterations all sound like they make perfect sense.

Thanks for taking the time to write to me.

Dawne

Monday 25th of December 2023

This is an excellent recipe and I’ve subscribed! Thank you 😋

Jeff

Saturday 8th of October 2022

That looks bostin'

I've tried cooking curried lamb shanks before, but the recipes always seemed to lack something.

Can't wait to throw that lot in the Ninja!

Brian Jones

Saturday 5th of November 2022

Cheers Jeff.

Enjoy!

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