Lamb Achari

I love this authentic lamb achari recipe!

This has to be one of my all time favourite lamb curries. I must make it every month and it always goes down a treat at my house.

In my cookbook 'The Curry Guy Easy', I featured a curry house style version of this lamb achari. Although I love that too, this authentic Punjabi version is the hands down winner. In this recipe post, you will see how it's made with step by step photographs.

What is lamb achari?

In Hindi, achar means pickle. Lamb achari is a very popular Punjabi curry made with the spices often used to make pickles such as the panch poran and dried chillies used in this recipe.

The sweet flavour of the mango chutney and sourness in the lime pickle give this curry a well rounded flavour loved by so many.

Can you use other meats in this curry?

Yes you can but I think lamb and beef are the best options. Lamb is of course the Punjabi Indian version where beef is very popular in Pakistan but they use lamb or mutton too.

Chicken is also often added as the main protein and it will work in this recipe too.

Do you have to use meat on the bone?

No. You can use boneless lamb, mutton or beef. I like to use meat on the bone because it add flavour to the sauce. If you prefer boneless meat, go for it!

What is panch phoran?

This is made with equal parts, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds and black mustard seeds. If you have these spices on hand, you can easily make it yourself.

It is also available, ready made at most Asian grocers and online.

Is lamb achari spicy?

It can be. Then again, it doesn't need to be. You are in control of how much chilli goes into your achari sauce. Use the recipe as a guide but also be guided by what you know you like.

I use a very hot lime pickle when I make my lamb achari because I love the spiciness. Be sure to taste as you go.

How long can you store lamb achari in the fridge?

You can keep this curry, covered tightly in the fridge for about three days, perhaps longer depending on the freshness of your ingredients. In fact, the flavours will develop as it sits in the fridge and your curry will be even better.

To reheat it, just pour it all into a pan and heat it over a medium-high heat. You can also place it in your microwave.

Can you freeze this curry?

You sure can. This is a delicious curry to have on hand so do it! I recommend freezing before adding the yoghurt though. The yoghurt can be added when you defrost and reheat it.

If you happen to have leftovers that have yoghurt in, you can freeze that too. There really isn't enough yoghurt in the curry to worry about. Generally speaking, yoghurt doesn't freeze well.

Top Tips.

Fresh ingredients: Use the freshest ingredients you can get your hands on. You'll be happy you did.
Let it cook!: Many people try to rush the cooking process. That meat is ready when it's tender. Don't serve it before it is.
Taste and adjust: Always taste the curry as it cooks. You can then add more or less of the different ingredients so that it is perfect for your taste preferences.

Step by step photographs.

Ingredients for the curry — Get all of your ingredients prepared and at the ready before you start cooking.

Tempering the spices and dried chillies in the oil in the pan. — Temper the panch phoran in the oil with the dried Kashmiri chillies for about 40 seconds.

Adding the chopped onions to the pan. — Add the finely chopped onions and fry until soft and translucent. A sprinkle of salt will help release moisture from the onions.

Adding the garlic and ginger paste and the chopped chillies to the pan. — Add the garlic/ginger paste and chillies and fry for a further 30 seconds, while stirring continuously.

Adding chopped tomatoes and ground spices to the pan. — Stir in the chopped tomatoes and the ground spices.

The onion base in the pan. — Stir everything well to combine. It should look a bit like this.

Adding the meat to the pan. — Now add the meat and stir well to combine. You want the meat to be completely coated with the onion mixture.

Simmering the meat and adding lime pickle and mango chutney to the pan. — Add enough water to cover and bring to a simmer until the meat is tender. Then add the lime pickle and mango chutney.

Adding yoghurt to the pan. — Reduce down until you are happy with the consistency of the sauce. Then stir in the yoghurt and add the kasoori methi.

If you like this lamb achari recipe, you might like to try some of these too.

If you like this shalgam gosht recipe, you might like to try some of these popular recipes too.

See more lamb Curry Recipes →

Have you tried this lamb achari recipe?

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Yield: 2

Lamb achari curry is so good. It's lamb cooked in pickling spices. You can make this dish easily and so easy too.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
1/2 tbsp panch poran
2 Kashmiri dried red chillies
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 - 2 bird’s eye chillies, finely chopped
70mll (¼ cup) tomato purée
1 tbsp mixed powder
½ tsp ground coriander 
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
300ml (1 ¼ cups) base curry sauce
1 tbsp lime pickle
1 – 2 tbsp plain yoghurt 
½ tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori
methi) 
½ tsp garam masala
Juice of ½ lemon 
Salt, to taste 
finely chopped coriander
(cilantro) leaves, to garnish

Instructions

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium–high heat. When
the oil is visibly hot, add the panch poran and Kashmiri chillies. The panch poran will begin to crackle as the spices release their flavour into the oil.
Toss in the sliced onion and fry until soft and translucent. A sprinkle of salt will help release moisture from the onion and cool down the pan.
Add the garlic and ginger paste and bird’s eye chillies and
fry for a further 30 seconds while stirring continuously.
Pour in the tomato purée followed by the mixed powder, ground coriander, chilli powder and 250ml (1 cup) of the base curry sauce. It will sizzle and bubble, but don’t be tempted to stir unless it is obviously burning to the pan. Be sure to scrape any caramelized sauce from the side of the pan into the sauce for additional
flavour.
This is a good time to add the main ingredient of your choice. Or, you could just continue on with the recipe and add a main ingredient when you heat it back up.
Stir in the lime pickle and mango chutney (if using), then add the yoghurt 1 tablespoon at
a time. You need to stir continuously so that the yoghurt doesn’t curdle.
Swirl in the dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) and
garam masala and season with salt. Squeeze the lemon juice over the top and garnish with the coriander (cilantro) to serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 396Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 730mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 7gSugar: 28gProtein: 7g

Comments

LisaD says

February 02, 2019 at 5:05 pm

Turned out perfect, great authentic taste, thank you

- Dan Toombs says
  
  February 26, 2019 at 9:18 am
  
  Great to hear Lisa!
  
  Thank you,
  Dan
  
Lisa says

February 17, 2019 at 4:38 pm

Tasted really authentic and easy to make, recommend

- Dan Toombs says
  
  February 26, 2019 at 9:01 am
  
  Hi Lisa
  
  Thank you very much. Much appreciated. 🙂
  
  Dan
  
Benson says

April 06, 2025 at 9:10 am

Hi Dan,

Which of your cookbooks is this recipe in?

Cheers.

- Dan Toombs says
  
  April 12, 2025 at 2:53 pm
  
  This recipe is in The Curry Guy Bible.
  Thank you
  Dan