This dairy-free, gluten-free slow cooker lamb korma curry is so quick and easy to put together, and readily feeds a large, hungry family. The curry freezes well, so any leftovers can be stashed in the freezer for an emergency meal.
TOTAL TIME INVESTMENT: 8 HOURS 15 MINUTES
I feel I have finally mastered my slow cooker. When I first started using the slow cooker, I found many of the meals I produced were often watery and lacking in flavour. I’ve persevered though, mostly for convenience, and recently surprised even myself with this slow cooker lamb korma curry.
Want to know my secret? I’ve written a whole post about how to create the best slow cooker meals ever (in my not so very humble opinion). And to make sure you can always have the tricks I use on hand, I have created a free cheat sheet for you to print out. Grab your copy by simply clicking the link below, or by requesting access to my Resource Library at the end of this post.
Whilst I am not a huge lamb fan, I do cook it occasionally as both Mr Grumpy and The Princess quite like it. However, it doesn’t grace our dinner menu on a regular basis. When it does, it is usually either in curry, or slow cooked to ensure that the fat has rendered out, or I will tuck the leftovers from a roast into a shepherd’s pie. And as much I usually try to avoid lamb, even I have to admit that this slow cooker lamb korma recipe is pretty tasty.
This recipe makes quite a large curry. However it freezes brilliantly, so even if you are feeding only a few people I would still make the full recipe and then freeze any leftovers. I like to serve this slow cooker lamb korma curry with Indian flatbreads, mango chutney and steamed rice. A fuss free meal that I challenge anybody to pick as coming from your slow cooker.
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Ingredient Substitutions for Slow Cooker Lamb Korma Curry
Don’t have all the ingredients? Are you as much a fan of lamb as me? Then try these substitutes:
- Use chicken thighs in place of the lamb to make a creamy, dairy-free chicken korma curry. Or simply make my slow cooker mild chicken curry instead.
- Replace the korma curry paste with any other mild Indian curry paste. Or if you like things a little spicy, and your family is onboard, use a hotter Indian curry paste instead. Whichever curry paste you choose, just remember to read the labels. The ingredients in a good curry paste should be largely vegetables and spices, with no added thickeners or fillers
- If you do not want to make your own cashew cream, or have nut allergies to contend with in the family, then use coconut cream instead. The recipe will still be dairy free.
- Fresh chopped tomatoes can be used in place of the canned crushed tomatoes.
- Ghee will add loads of flavour to the dish, but if you don’t have any on hand then use olive oil instead to fry the onions.
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Tips & Tricks For A Delicious Slow Cooker Lamb Korma Curry Recipe
This lamb korma curry recipe is super easy to throw together. Open a few jars and tins, mix everything together and walk away.
Let me leave you with a few final tips though to make the most of this recipe:
- I originally threw the cashew cream into this slow cooker lamb korma as I had some taking up space in the freezer (leftovers from another recipe) and was looking for a way to use it. Cashew nuts pair perfectly with the lamb, and I loved the richness the cashew cream added to the recipe, so it stayed. This is the recipe I used to make my cashew cream, and I highly recommend it.
- Cashew cream freezes well, so can be made in advance and stored until you are ready to make the curry. I do find, however, that cashew cream thickens slightly when frozen so just thin the cream with a little water before adding to the dish. The consistency you are after is that of a thick pouring cream.
- Use diced lamb shoulder or leg in this recipe. Or just some lamb with a little fat and connective tissue. The first time I made this, I use lamb fillet, which is great for quick curries but not so good in the slow cooker as it become dry with the longer cooking times. The shoulder is a far better choice here.
- You don’t have to fry the onions off if you are short on time (or don’t want to wash another dish). I like to do this as I have found it is just one way of adding flavour to a slow cooker meal. If you don’t wish to cook the onions, add them directly to the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients.
- I used a 4.5L slow cooker for this recipe.
- Lamb korma curry can be made up to three days in advance and reheated prior to serving. You can either keep the lamb korma in the slow cooker insert in the fridge until required and then reheat it for 3-4 hours in the slow cooker, or place it in a heat safe container and reheat the curry in the oven.
- Freeze the lamb korma for up to three months.
Other Curry Recipes You May Like
Just in case you are a curry fanatic and are always on the look out for new recipes to try, I have a few other suggestions for you:
- Slow Cooker Thai Red Beef Curry
- Slow Cooker Mild Chicken Curry Recipe with Coconut Milk
- Quick and Easy Fish Curry
Enjoy!
Made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below.
And if you loved it, please don’t forget to rate it.
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Slow Cooker Lamb Korma Curry
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons ghee or olive oil
- 2 onions sliced
- 1.5 kg (3 lb) lamb cut into 5cm (2″) dice
- 400 g (14 oz) tin crushed tomatoes
- 300 g (1 cup) cashew cream
- 150 g (1/2 cup) korma curry paste
- 8 cardamom pods crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 20 g (0.75 oz) fresh coriander/cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Melt the ghee in a medium fry pan.
- Fry the onions for 5-8 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Place the cooked onions in the bowl of slow cooker.
- Add the lamb, cashew cream, curry paste, cardamom pods and bay leaves.
- Stir thoroughly, then cook on Low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. The actual cooking time will depend on your machine.
- At the end of the cooking time, stir through the chopped coriander.
- Serve with steamed rice.
Notes
- Cashew cream freezes well, so can be made in advance and stored until you are ready to make the curry.
- Coconut cream can be used in place of the cashew cream.
- Use diced lamb shoulder or leg, or any cut with a little fat and connective tissue.
- You needn’t fry the onions off if you are short on time. Simply add the onions directly to the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients.
- I used a 4.5L slow cooker for this recipe.
- Make the curry up to three days in advance and reheat it prior to serving.
- Freeze the lamb korma for up to three months.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in June 2015. It was substantially updated on 22nd March 2018 to include ingredient substitutions, FAQ’s, nutritional information and to improve the readability of the text. It was updated again on 13th May 2019 to add links the Resource Library and to update affiliate links.
I do love a good curry. Especially one that can be made in the slow cooker. Do you have a particular korma paste you’d recommend?
I’m a big fan of the Pataks range of curry pastes Kylee. This is the korma paste that I use.
Hi, I’m in the middle of making this and in following the method i notice that you havent included the crushed tomatoes. I can only assume they go into slow cooker at same time as other ingedients. Looking forward to tasting it!
Thanks Megan
Sorry Megan, you are absolutely correct. Thanks for the catch! I have amended the recipe, and I hope you liked it 🙂
This dish looks delicious and attractive. I will try to make it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Absolute pleasure. I hope you enjoy it.
That korma looks incredible. I haven’t had it made in the slow cooker for so long – I definitely need to make it again soon, yours looks delicious!
Thanks Bintu 🙂 I find it a great recipe to make in the slow cooker.
I am so excited to make this lamb korma recipe! We love Indian takeout but our favorite restaurant is 25 minutes away… definitely not a time saver! Thank you for all the substitution options too!
I hope you like it Meredith. That’s a long way to go for take out 🙂 I’m glad you liked the substitution suggestions.
I’ve never made any indian curry at home myself. I love that yours is made in a slow cooker making the preparation hands off mostly. And lamb in a curry sounds fantastic!
You should give it a go Julia. With a good curry paste it is so simple to do. And currys work really well in the slow cooker.
The slow cooker really makes things so much better! And now you’ve really got me craving some warm curry. 🙂
Particularly on those busy nights Demeter 😉 I hope you satisfy that curry craving 😀
I’ll admit I’m not a big fan of lamb either because I usually find it too strong but this looks really tasty! And I can’t believe you only need 15 minutes to prep it!
Yes, I don’t cook it often for that exact reason Marie, but occasionally I relent 😀 It’s even quicker to prep if you don’t brown the onions.
It looks so delicious. Can’t wait to try this yummy curry. Thanks for sharing the post 🙂
Pleasure Chelsea. I hope you enjoy it.
My kids really enjoy lamb curry. Will try to make this recipe for the Wed’s Dinner. I bet it will be tasty. Thanks for sharing.
I hope you enjoy it Kimberly 😀
Wow lamb korma curry looks so Impressive!!thanks for sharing such an wonderful recipe!!
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it.
Yum! Although I would like to make this recipe, I don’t have or use a slow cooker. And, I’m looking for substitute for using nuts. Cannot use coconut milk. I can use hemp milk. Are there modifications that you can suggest that would make this recipe work just as well? Thank you.
Hi GG. You could easily make this recipe on a stovetop or in the oven. You would just need to cook it for around 2 hours to tenderise the meat. And keep an eye on the curry as you may need to add additional liquid if it seems dry.
As to substitutes, this is tricky. The nuts act as a thickener in this recipe, so you would need to find something that could do a similar job. Lentils, or lentil flour, might work. I have never used hemp milk so cannot comment if it would be a suitable substitute for coconut in this particular recipe.
If you have a hankering for curry, you may be better looking for recipes that don’t use coconut milk. I can highly recommend you check out Krumpli as he has some delicious curry recipes that are coconut milk free.
I hope that this helps.
Thanks Tania!!
Hi Tania, where do I get cashew cream from?
I make my own Anna. I have linked to my favourite recipe in the post above. If you don’t wish to make cashew cream, I have also provided suggestions for substitutes. Hope that helps 🙂
I made this yesterday and it was AMAZING! Super tender lamb and delicious flavour. I think the cashew cream is the secret ingredient. I made my own too, but because I only wanted enough for this recipe I used Quirky Cooking’s Thermomix recipe.
I’m so glad you liked it Bronwen. I do love the creaminess the cashew cream adds to it. I haven’t tried Quirky Cooking’s recipe. Will give it a go now I know it is just enough for this recipe. Thanks for the heads up!
I added two heaped dessert spoons of almond meal at tbe end, in addition to opening the lid and changing to “reduce” setting on my slow cooker to thicken this up a bit.
Great idea with the almond meal Narelle. Thanks for sharing that. I don’t have a reduce setting on my slow cooker, although it sounds like a handy feature to have.