Lamb Chettinad curry is all about bold flavor—tender bone-in lamb simmers in a rich, aromatic gravy. Serve it with warm flatbread or chapati to soak up every bit of the flavorful curry.
What is Lamb Chettinad?
Lamb Chettinad is a South Indian favorite that brings big, bold flavors to the table. Bone-in lamb or goat is simmered in a deeply spiced, aromatic gravy made with freshly ground spices and curry leaves, resulting in a mutton curry that’s as comforting as it is delicious.
Key Ingredients
- Chettinad Masala: Process the dry whole spices like green cardamom, black cloves, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds with dried red chiles, grated coconut, and cashews into a fine powder to deepen the flavor.
- Ghee: Ghee is a staple in Indian cuisine and develops a nutty base for the dish.
- Aromatics: Temper a cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and mustard seeds in oil to enhance the flavor.
- Onions: I use yellow onions but substitute with shallots.
- Garlic: Use three fresh garlic cloves for the best flavor.
- Ginger: I love how the freshly minced ginger cooks alongside the lamb.
- Curry Leaves: Curry leaves add so much flavor and smell delicious as they cook! I’m lucky enough to have a few curry trees in my backyard, so I can pluck them fresh, but you can easily find them at your local Indian grocery store.
- Tomatoes: Puree the fresh tomatoes in a blender or food processor before adding them to reduce the cooking time. If you’re in a pinch, you can use ½ a can of diced tomatoes or chop fresh ones and cook them down over low heat. Just keep in mind that this may extend the cooking time.
- Spices: Season the curry with hot red chili powder or Kashmiri chili powder for a mild flavor, turmeric powder, and salt.
- Mutton: Use tender young cuts of bone-in lamb for the best results. Ask the butcher to cut the meat into 1-inch pieces. You can use boneless lamb, but it won’t have the same flavor.
- Cilantro: Finish the lamb Chettinad with chopped cilantro or coriander leaves..
Additions and Substitutions
- Replace the lamb with goat meat or bone-in chicken thighs and legs.
- Use a ready-made ginger garlic paste instead of fresh ginger and garlic to reduce the prep time.
How to Make Lamb Chettinad
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
For the Chettinad Masala
Step 1: Dry toast the whole spices in saute mode in the Instant Pot until they turn golden brown. Transfer the mixture to a spice grinder in batches to process it into a fine powder and set it aside.
For the Curry
Step 1: Warm the ghee in the Instant Pot. Then, add a cinnamon stick, chili peppers, bay leaves, and mustard seeds. Cook in sauté mode until they sputter.
Step 2: Add the onions to the spices and cook until golden brown, for 15-20 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and curry leaves. Cook for another minute.
Step 3: Deglaze the Instant Pot with the pureed tomatoes and add the red chili powder, turmeric, and salt.
Step 4: Nestle the lamb meat into the pot and pour water over the top. Secure the Instant Pot lid and set it to manual high pressure for 15-30 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.
What does natural release mean?
Natural release on the Instant Pot means allowing the pressure inside the pot to gradually decrease on its own after cooking finishes, without manually opening the pressure release valve. This process takes 10–30 minutes, depending on the amount of liquid inside the pot.
As the pressure decreases, the float valve will drop, signaling that it’s safe to open the lid. Natural release is ideal for soups, stews, or liquid-heavy recipes to prevent splattering.
Step 5: Remove the lid and stir in the reserved Chettinad masala. Cover with the lid, but do not secure it. Simmer in sauté mode for 15-20 minutes until the curry reduces, and the ghee separates to the edges of the pot.
Expert Tips
- Want more curry? Just increase the amount of onions and tomatoes for a saucier finish.
- Bhuna to reduce the curry. This dish uses the traditional bhuna method—ingredients cook over high heat until the oil or ghee separates; the same cooking technique is used for aloo keema or bhuna gosht. But since goat and lamb need longer to tenderize, I pressure-cook the meat first, then switch to sauté mode to bhuna the curry, giving the sauce time to reduce and the flavors time to intensify and come together for a thick, rich curry.
If you enjoy lamb Chettinad curry, try one of these Indian recipes!
Serving Suggestions
Serve lamb Chettinad piping hot with warm bread like naan, roti, paratha, chapati, dosa, or idli—whatever you like. If you prefer rice, try plain basmati rice or jeera rice. You can also serve it with meals like mutton yakhni pulao or chicken tikka biryani when feeding a crowd.
Kachumber salad, avocado cucumber tomato salad, sumac cucumbers, or chickpea tahini salad are refreshing side dishes. And don’t forget sauces like raita, chutney, or serrano crema.
What To Do With Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store the leftover lamb curry in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Let the dish cool and transfer it to a freezer-safe container. Lamb chettinad freezes for 2-3 months.
- Thaw: Defrost the mutton curry in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheat: Warm the leftovers on the stovetop, and prepare your rice or naan.
More Curry Recipes:
Lamb Chettinad
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 2 black cloves
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2-3 boriya chiles
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoons grated coconut
- 1 tablespoon cashews
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 2 green chile peppers, slit lengthwise
- 1 – inch cinnamon stick
- 1-2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoons black mustard seeds
- 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ – inch knob of ginger, minced
- 8 curry leaves
- 1-2 medium tomatoes, pureed
- 1 tablespoons red chili powder or Kashmiri chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 cups water
- 1½ pounds mutton, bone-in, and cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- Dry toast the whole spices in saute mode in the Instant Pot until they turn golden brown. Transfer the mixture to a spice grinder in batches to process it into a fine powder and set it aside.
- Warm the ghee in the Instant Pot. Then, add a cinnamon stick, chili peppers, bay leaves, and mustard seeds. Cook in sauté mode until they sputter.
- Add the onions to the spices and cook until golden brown, for 15-20 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and curry leaves. Cook for another minute.
- Deglaze the Instant Pot with the pureed tomatoes and add the red chili powder, turmeric, and salt.
- Nestle the lamb meat into the pot and pour water over the top. Secure the Instant Pot lid and set it to manual high pressure for 15-30 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.
- Remove the lid and stir in the reserved Chettinad masala. Cover with the lid, but do not secure it. Simmer in sauté mode for 15-20 minutes until the curry reduces, and the ghee separates to the edges of the pot.
- Want more curry? Just increase the amount of onions and tomatoes for a saucier finish.
- Bhuna to reduce the curry. This dish uses the traditional bhuna method—ingredients cook over high heat until the oil or ghee separates; the same cooking technique is used for aloo keema or bhuna gosht. But since goat and lamb need longer to tenderize, I pressure-cook the meat first, then switch to sauté mode to bhuna the curry, giving the sauce time to reduce and the flavors time to intensify and come together for a thick, rich curry.