Lamb / Mutton Karahi - An Easy, Traditional Recipe
Delicious, luxurious and authentic lamb & mutton Karahi recipe for the win! When you want something special, this one is a winner
Cook time: PT90M
Total time: PT90M
Rating
4.6 stars (255 reviews)
Ingredients
1/2 cup oil or ghee
1.1 lb lamb or mutton (bone in preferably)
5 tomatoes, diced very finely
1 bulb garlic (minced)
1 thumb sized chunk of ginger (minced)
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
2 tsp paprika or kashmiri red chilli powder
1.5 tsp black pepper
1 tsp chilli flakes
0.5 tsp cumin powder
0.5 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp nigella seeds (kalonji, optional)
2-4 green chillis (slit in half if you like your Karahi hot)
0.5 bunch coriander (chopped)
ginger cut into matchsticks (as much as desired)
Categories
Pakistani Lamb & Mutton Recipes
Cuisine
Pakistani, Indian
Steps
Heat up your oil/ghee in a wok, cast iron skillet or karahi. Add the lamb/mutton and fry on high, stirring constantly until all the meat has changed its colour
Add the minced ginger and garlic and give this a quick fry for 1-2 minutes, until the raw smell goes away. Don't allow the ginger and garlic to colour too much.
Add all the spices and 1/1.5 cups (250-375ml) of water for lamb and 2.5/3 cups (625-750ml) of water for mutton. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and put to lid on. Simmer for 1hr for lamb and 2-2.5hrs for mutton. Keep checking during this time to ensure there is sufficient water and top up a little as and if it looks like there's no water left in the pan.
Once the simmer time is up, the meat should be almost done, and there shouldn't be much water in the pan. The pan will look quite oily (remember, you can remove the oil at the end if you want!). If there is a lot of moisture in the pan at this stage, please dry it out over a high heat without the lid until there's very little left.
Turn the heat to high. Add the diced tomatoes. Let this cook on high, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan. The tomatoes will release A LOT of juices. Keep stirring and allow the sauce to concentrate
Once the sauce looks thick, jammy and glossy, and the oil is beginning to rise to the surface, add in half the chopped coriander and green chilli. Turn the heat to low and allow this to simmer without the lid off for 5 minutes.
Garnish with additional chopped coriander and the matchstick-cut ginger.
Reviews
Asma on 2025-09-21 (5 stars): Easy to follow and delicious
Mehak on 2025-08-22 (5 stars): I never comment on posts like this but I’ve made your karahi so many times, I just had to! I follow everything as is and it always turns out sooo AMAZING, my whole family loves it. I’ve made this at home, for dawats, for Bakra Eid dinner and it’s always a hit. Thank you so much for this! Now anytime anyone ever asks me about putting onions or yogurt in my karahi I’m like no, that’s not the authentic way and I’m not gonna change this recipe in any way 😂 Also made your chicken karahi many times and same thoughts. It’s my favorite when I’m craving something authentically desi 🇵🇰 6 stars for this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Robin on 2025-06-18 (5 stars): I have made this recipe many times before because it's so good, but today was the first time using mutton rather than lamb or chicken. The taste was absolutely next level, I really encourage anyone to try it with mutton!
Zach on 2025-06-13 (5 stars): I wanted to make this after trying this dish in Islamabad after a climbing trip to the Karakoram. This recipe was delicious and brought back a ton of memories. Highly recommend.
Paul jones on 2025-05-29 (5 stars): I've used this recipe a few times now. It's always a winner with the family and any one else who happens to pop round!
(and less complicated than the last on I used to use).
Murat on 2025-03-20 (5 stars): Dear Sister Fatima,
Having spent almost a year in total within 4 years in Pakistan, I fell in love with food there. If I put them in order of my delight Shinvari takes the lead followed by Mutton Karahi, Nihari and Dumba. I had so much missed MK, so I asked my friend Dr.Sidra if she could send me a her recipe. She strongly adviced you. There I am. Great succsess.
Thank you.
Greetings from Turkiye
Zindebad Brother Pakistan
Halima Khan on 2025-02-06 (5 stars): Delicious n easy to make.
Thanks for sharing.
Paul:-) on 2024-11-11 (5 stars): Hi Fatima,
As promised, review.
Venison Karahi is an absolutely mind blowingly gorgeous dish.
I added half a teaspoon of black cardamom which really went well with the flavour of the venison.
200% for this one
Thanks Paul:-)