Indian Recipes
Lamb with Spinach Sauce (Saag Gosht)
Tender boneless lamb shoulder simmered in a ginger, garlic and yoghurt masala, then folded through with puréed spinach.
- Serves 4
- Prep 20 min
- Cook about 1 hr 45 min
- Indian
Method
Heat the oil in a heavy casserole and add the cumin seeds and cardamom. When they sizzle, add the onions and fry for 12–15 minutes until golden brown.
Add the garlic, ginger and green chillies and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the turmeric, ground coriander and chilli powder for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook until soft and pulpy, about 5 minutes.
Add the lamb and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes. Stir in the yoghurt a spoonful at a time, letting each go in before the next. Pour in the hot water, cover and simmer gently for 1–1¼ hours until the lamb is tender.
Meanwhile, wilt the spinach in a large pan with just the water left on the leaves, then cool briefly and blitz to a coarse purée.
Stir the spinach into the lamb and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes until the sauce is thick and clings to the meat. Add the garam masala, check the salt and stir in the butter if using. Serve with naan, chapatis or rice.
Tip: tap a step to tick it off as you cook.
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Chef’s notes
- Frozen whole-leaf spinach works well: use 450 g, defrosted and squeezed, and skip the wilting step.
How this recipe was developed
The old Cookeryonline page reproduced a published recipe, so we wrote a new one. We combined Madhur Jaffrey’s Mughlai lamb with spinach and the BBC Food saag gosht.
- Lamb shoulder and spinach in proportion. Madhur Jaffrey’s paalag gosht uses 560 g boneless lamb shoulder to 450 g spinach for 4; we keep a similar balance.
- Yoghurt added gradually. Adding the yoghurt a spoonful at a time so it does not split is from the same recipe.
- Spinach near the end. The Karim family’s saag gosht for BBC Food (4.0/5 from 9 ratings) adds the spinach just before serving; we purée it first (our choice) for a smoother sauce.
Sources we compared (ratings as shown on each site on 31 October 2026):
- The Guardian (Madhur Jaffrey): Masroor Ahmed’s paalag gosht – Mughlai lamb with spinach
- BBC Food (The Karim Family): Saag gosht (lamb and spinach curry) (4.0/5 from 9 ratings)
This is an original Cookeryonline recipe written in our own words. Ingredient choices and techniques are credited above; no source text has been copied.