One Pan Lamb Meatball Curry

This rich and aromatic lamb meatball curry is packed with the most amazing flavours of India and those lamb meatballs are so moist and tender that it’s bound to become a family favourite.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• These curried lamb meatballs are SUPER easy and quick to make so perfect as a midweek meal
• The flavours, lamb meatballs in curry sauce are just packed with the most amazing flavour
• One pan! This is a one-pan curry recipe so less hassle and less to wash up!

I love making meatballs, they are so easy and always a crowd-pleaser. I’ve made pork and chorizo meatballs with tomato sauce, my delicious sweet and sour meatballs with a marmalade glaze, gorgeous Greek fried meatballs (Keftedes) and good old-fashioned Greek meatballs in tomato sauce.

Meatballs are fun to make and kids love them, keep the spices mild if making this for children but really ramp up those indian flavours when making this spiced meatball curry recipe for the adults.

This is a lamb kofta curry recipe really. Kofta means meatballs in India, though traditionally they are more of a sausage-type shape than the round meatballs we are more accustomed to.

Ingredients for lamb curry meatballs

Minced lamb is the main ingredient for this meatball curry recipe. I use Scottish lamb of course, but use any lamb you like to make these lamb meatballs.

Garlic and onion are your basics for starting to get flavour going.

Spices – these are all important in any Indian curry recipe and these lamb koftas are no exception. I use Garam Masala as it contains ginger, cumin, coriander, fennel, dill, cinnamon, mace and other spices that make those lamb meatball curry recipe so special.

Herbs – fresh mint and coriander really add freshness to your Indian spiced meatball curry.

As this is a Masala meatball curry you are going for flavour not fire. The spices and herbs are more aromatic than hot in this kofta curry recipe.

Egg and breadcrumbs help to keep those lamb meatballs together.

Curry sauce

For the curry sauce I use tinned tomatoes (I love those tinned cherry tomatoes you can get in the supermarket just now, they have great flavour) and a couple of spoonfuls of Masala curry paste, plus half an onion and a clove of garlic..

How to make curried lamb meatballs

First you want to whizz up the bread in a food processor to turn it into breadcrumbs and add the onion and garlic along with the mint and coriander.

This will give you a wonderfully aromatic mixture just packed with curry flavours.

Now tip this into a bowl and add the minced lamb (ground lamb) and the egg and mix it all together with your hands.

Using your hands to make meatballs ensures that you really bring all those wonderful ingredients together. Squish the mince and other ingredients together.

Once all the ingredients are well mixed just pull off pieces and roll into lamb meatballs about the size of a golf ball.

Fry the lamb meatballs in the pan you are going to make your lamb meatball curry in. You can do everything on the hob or put the lamb curry meatballs in the oven with the sauce later. If using the oven make sure you are using a pan that does NOT have a plastic handle!

Once they are browned all over remove the lamb meatballs from the pan and pop them on a plate while you make your curry sauce in the same pan.

Fry the onion in the pan with the juices from the lamb meatballs for a few minutes then add the garlic.

Add the Masala curry paste and the tinned tomatoes and stir well and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add your meatballs to the curry tomato sauce and either cook on the hob for about 15 minutes or pop this into the oven to cook for the same amount of time.

This is such a quick and easy lamb kofta curry, you” have it on the table in about half an hour from start to finish.

While the lamb meatballs are cooking in the curry sauce you can be making your rice to serve alongside your lamb meatball curry.

How many does this lamb curry serve?

This kofta curry recipe makes 10 curried meatballs, so it can either serve 3 people depending how hungry you are or make the meatballs a little smaller and make 12 and serve 4 people.

What type of rice to serve with lamb kofta curry

I like to serve my curried lamb meatballs with either Indian-style rice with turmeric for that gorgeous golden colour. Basic Basmati rice, Jasmin rice or just simple long-grain rice.

If you are not a fan of rice then why not serve your curried lamb meatballs with couscous of maybe homemade cauliflower rice. You can even use noodles or pasta to serve with this lamb meatball curry, it is entirely up to you.

What to serve with lamb meatball curry?

Homemade raita is always my go-to when I am serving any curry recipe. It is super quick and easy to make and once you’ve tried homemade raita you’ll never buy the stuff from the supermarket again. I also like to have some of my chutneys on the table and my spiced apricot chutney goes perfectly with this lamb kofta curry.

Storage

Your homemade lamb meatballs in Indian curry sauce will keep in the fridge for about 3 days and you can freeze them for up to 4 months. Just defrost completely and heat till piping hot.

For a real kick of flavour then homemade lime pickle is a great addition to your lamb curried meatballs.

Looking for more eary curry recipes to try? Then check these out before you go;

Quick and easy Thai pumpkin curry

Turkey curry

Thai green chicken curry

Vegetarian curry stuffed peppers

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.