INSTANT POT MUTTON CURRY
This Indian Recipe Serves 3-4
Do you love a good old curry but don’t want to stand at the stovetop watching over it all the time? This Instant Pot Mutton Curry takes so much time off your hands & tastes absolutely delicious.
If you want that quick meal, you are most welcome to dump everything into the Instant Pot – however, I take some time to braise it properly on sauté mode, when it’s time to cook the meat, I pressure cook & sauté again for the potatoes. I know many that just pop the potatoes in with the meat & you may do that as well but I have tried this method & I was always left with a watery base, therefore I choose to cook the potatoes on sauté mode to allow for the thicken.
Instant Pot Mutton Curry Ingredients:
- ±500 grams lamb or mutton
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 2-3 green chilies
- few sprigs of thyme
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- salt to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 star aniseed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
- ½ teaspoon fennel (soomph) seeds
- 2 teaspoons ginger & garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
- ½ teaspoon cumin (jeera) powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon teaspoons coriander (dhania) powder
- ½ teaspoon cardamom (elachi) powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 3 tablespoons chili powder or masala
- ¼ cup fresh mint
- ¼ cup fresh coriander (dhania)
- 220 ml water
- freshly chopped coriander (dhania) for garnishing
Method:
- Rinse & cut the lamb or mutton into cubes.
- Peel & chop the onion.
- Rinse & slit the green chilies.
- Rinse & blend the tomatoes.
- Roughly chop the ¼ cup of coriander (dhania) & ¼ cup of mint.
- Peel & rinse potatoes. Cut potatoes into quarters.
- Set aside in a bowl of water until ready to use. The water prevents the potatoes from oxidizing.
- Today I am using my Instant Pot Pro, however, other Instant Pots can be used.
- Press the “SAUTÉ” button the Instant Pot.
- Press on the silver knob to adjust the temperature to “Low” – if using other Instant Pots simply press the sauté button again & adjust the temperature to “High”.
- Press the “Start” button so that the “Sauté” function can work. On the standard Instant Pot’s it will automatically start as there is no “Start” button.
- The display should pre-select to 00:30, but it is fine at whichever time because it may be canceled whenever you are done sautéing.
- Pour the vegetable oil into the inner stainless steel pot. Add in the onions, slit green chilies & thyme.
- Thereafter, add in the fennel (soomph) seeds, cumin (jeera) seeds, star aniseed, bay leaves & cinnamon stick.
- Mix well & allow to sauté until the onions are translucent or browned. Once the onions are translucent or browned, add in turmeric powder, garam masala, cumin (jeera) powder, coriander (dhania) powder, cardamom (elachi) powder, red chili flakes, chili powder/masala & ginger & garlic paste.
- Mix well.
- Thereafter, add in the lamb or mutton pieces & salt to taste.
- Mix until the meat is coated in the spices.
- Cover with a lid & allow the meat to seal in the spices for 10 minutes. Make sure to give it a stir now & again as you do not want it to burn – also avoid adding any water. I do not have the Instant Pot lid so I used a lid that I had on hand.
- After 10 minutes, the meat should have a beautiful colour on them, give it a quick stir.
- Add in the blended or grated tomato, curry leaves, ¼ cup of mint & ¼ cup of coriander (dhania).
- Pour in 70ml water & give it a stir.
- Press “CANCEL” on your Instant Pot.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot.
- Move the anti-blockage vent (steam release switch) to “SEAL”.
- If using the Standard IP then turn the vent to “SEALING”.
- Press the “Pressure Cook” button.
- Press the silver knob to set the pressure level to “High” on the display. On the standard IP’s, press the button again to set the pressure level to “High” on the display.
- Press on the silver knob again to adjust the Pressure Cook time to 00:20 (20 minutes).
- Hit the “Start” button.
- Once the pressure builds up, the “float valve” will pop up – when it pops up, do not attempt to open the lid!
- After the 20 minutes are over, the screen should display “00:00” or “L0:00”.
- Press “CANCEL” on your Instant Pot.
- Move the anti-blockage vent (steam release switch) to “VENT” – On the Standard IP, turn the anti-blockage vent (steam release handle) to “VENTING” & allow the steam to release.
- Once the “float valve” sinks in, it is safe to open the lid.
- As you can see, the meat has cooked perfectly.
- Give it a stir.
- Add in the potatoes – be sure to discard the water it had been resting in.
- Pour in 150ml water & give it a stir.
- Press the “SAUTÉ” button the Instant Pot.
- Don’t forget to hit the “Start” button.
- Cover with a lid & allow the potatoes to cook until soft. Be sure to check on it & add more water if needed.
- Once the potatoes are soft, press the “Cancel” button.
- Note: the sautéing part can be done on the stovetop because the Instant Pot Pro’s inner stainless steel pot can be used on the stove unlike the other Instant Pots. This can save time, especially if you’re new to this appliance. Simply sauté on the stove & pop the pot into the Instant Pot & pressure cook.
- Plate with whatever sides you prefer, I opted to serving this Instant Pot Mutton Curry with soft fluffy rice.
- Garnish with freshly chopped coriander (dhania).
- The meat comes out soft & delicious in the Instant Pot.
- On the side note – how gorgeous is the pan that I served it in? It’s a granite pot from the OMS Range which is in fact made in Turkey.