Arabian Lamb Stew Recipe (2024)

Published: Aug 31, 2022 by Muna · This post may contain affiliate links ·

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This hearty Arabian Lamb Stew recipe is loaded with tender lamb meat and great flavor from the bones, and earthy, warm Arabian spices. It is a worthy Restaurant Style meal made with simple ingredients following easy steps.

this recipe

Lamb stew is a rich dish with tender meat, potatoes, onions, and a hint of subtle, delicious spice. It is also called Saloonat Laham in Arabic.

If you cook this recipe in a pressure cooker (instant pot), the cooking time will be around 30 to 40 minutes. Cooking it on the stovetop using my method will take 1 hour and a half. Serve the stew with fluffy parboiled rice or coconut milk rice.

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🥘Ingredients You'll Need
🔪How To Make
💭 Cooking Tips
📖 Delicious Variations
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
🍲 More Main Dishes You'll Love
🌡️ Storing and Reheating
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

🥘Ingredients You'll Need

Lamb: We’ll use 500 grams of boneless lamb meat. Or you can use 1 kilo of lamb with bones.
Potatoes: A stew is not a stew without potatoes! We’ll be using one large potato cut into cubes.
Tomato paste: This lamb stew recipe uses tomato paste. It adds a beautiful richness to the dish and a stunning color too. Trust me on this one!
Hawaij spice mix: You will find the recipe and ingredients in the recipe card below. This special Yemeni spice mix is used to make recipes such as Chicken Mandi.

🔪How To Make

It can feel intimidating if you’ve never made any kind of stew before. But this recipe is the perfect one to start with.

You'll need a large pan or heavy skillet with a bit of ghee to prepare this dish. Cook on medium-high heat.

Cooking on stovetop

Step 1
In a large pan, add the lamb meat, black peppercorns, green cardamom, cloves, and enough water to cover the lamb meat and cook it for one hour to one and half hours.

Step 2
In a medium pan, melt the ghee, then fry the onion until translucent and almost golden.

Step 3
Add the meat to the onion and fry until you see brown patches on it, then add the potatoes and mix for one minute. Cover for two minutes, then add the garlic and mix.

Step 4
Season with salt and the rest of the stew spices; mix well. Add the tomato paste and mix until combined.

Step 5
Pour the boiling water and cook the stew until the potato is cooked and the meat is completely cooked, around 20 minutes on medium heat.

💭 Cooking Tips

Want to cook the meat even faster? Cut it into small cubes.
Do not add salt while boiling the meat. Salt will make the meat cook for longer.
You can add green chili if you want the lamb stew spicy.
You can cook the meat a day before and refrigerate it. Continue with the remaining steps the next day.

📖 Delicious Variations

The recipe and ingredients I’ve listed are the classic ones for an Arabian Lamb Stew, but you can make it your own with a few variations!

Add other vegetables. Some vegetables and herbs that go well with this stew are carrots, bell peppers, bay leaves, fresh thyme, mushrooms, parsley, parsnips, and turnips.

Convert it into a vegan dish by replacing the meat with vegetables and the ghee with cooking oil.

💬 Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove the meat and just use vegetables?

Yes, of course. To replace the chunk of meat, use large cubes of carrots and potatoes, and then add more of your favorite vegetables. Skip the boiling step and cook the vegetables with the onion.

Will chicken work in this recipe?

The chicken will add even more flavor to this stew recipe. Instead of boiling the chicken, fry it with onion and continue with the remaining steps.

Can I add wine to this recipe?

This is an alcohol-free recipe, and adding wine or any other alcohol to it will ruin the flavor.

What Cut of Lamb is Best for Stew?

I prefer the leg and shoulders; these cuts are tender and flavorful when cooked properly.

Can I use beef?

Beef works great in this recipe, but you will have to cook it for longer.

🍲 More Main Dishes You'll Love

If you love my lamb stew, here are a few more fantastic main dishes worth your time. Enjoy!

Easy Smothered Chicken Gravy - A Soul Food Recipe
Pepper Steak with Onions
Palak Paneer Recipe
Skoudehkaris

🌡️ Storing and Reheating

Fridge: Lamb stew can stay safe for four days when refrigerated in an airtight container.

Freezer: You can also freeze it for three months!

📖 Recipe

Arabian Lamb Stew Recipe

This Arabian Lamb Stew is hearty, healthy, and delicious. Yes, this homemade recipe is based on authentic flavors of the Middle East

4.54 from 13 votes

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Course: Main Meal

Cuisine: Arabian

Keyword: lamb stew

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 people

Calories: 300kcal

Author: Muna

Ingredients

For cooking the lamb meat in a regular pan

▢ 500 grams lamb cubes or 1 kilo if with bones
▢ ½ tablespoon black pepper corns
▢ ½ tablespoon green cardamom
▢ 5 whole cloves
▢ water enough to cover the lamb meat and cook it for 1 hour and half

For the stew

▢ 1 large onion chopped
▢ 1 large potato cut into cubes
▢ 5 garlic cloves minced medium sized garlic
▢ ¼ cup tomato paste
▢ Salt to taste or two teaspoon
▢ 6 whole cardamoms
▢ ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
▢ 5 whole cloves
▢ 3 inch cinnamon stick or half teaspoon cinnamon powder
▢ 1 ½ tablespoon Yamani spice mix recipe below
▢ 1 dry lemon
▢ 2 to 3 tablespoon ghee
▢ 5 cups boiling water

Yemeni Spice Mix

▢ 2 ½ tablespoon cumin powder
▢ 1 tablespoon black pepper powder
▢ 2 tablespoon coriander powder
▢ 1 tablespoon cardamom powder
▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
▢ ½ teaspoon clove powder
▢ 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
▢ ½ teaspoon red chili powder optional

Instructions

How to Make Yemeni Spice Mix

Mix them all up and keep in airtight container.

Making the stew

In a large pan on medium-high heat, add the lamb meat, black pepper corns, green cardamom, cloves, and enough water to cover the lamb meat and cook it for one hour to one and half hour depending on how big is the cut.
When the lamb is cooked, discard the spices and water, and keep the meat aside.
In a separate medium pan, melt the ghee, then fry the onion until translucent and almost golden.
Add the meat to the onion and fry until you see brown patches on it, then add the potatoes and mix for one minute. Cover for two minutes, then add the garlic and mix.
Season with salt and the rest of the stew spices, mix well. Add the tomato paste and mix until combined.
Pour the boiling water and cook the stew until the potato is cooked and the meat is completely cooked around 20 minutes on medium heat.
Your lamb stew is ready to serve.

Video

Notes

Cut the meat into smaller cuts to help cook it faster.
Do not add salt when cooking the meat the regular way to prevent it from getting tough or taking a longer time to cook.
You will not need to cook the meat separately if using a pressure cooker.
This post was originally published in 2016 and is updated with a video and more information.

Nutrition

Did You Make This Recipe?Please let me know how you liked it! Tage me @MunatyCooking