A rich tomato based lamb curry made in the Instant Pot. It is definitely worth making a day ahead of when you want to eat and reheating it, as it only gets better for a night in the fridge. Plus it frees up your IP to cook the rice to serve it with!
- 500 g leg of lamb, deboned and cut into 1.5 inch cubes
- 4 tbsp Greek yogurt
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 green cardamom pods, cracked open
- 1-2 inches cinnamon bark
- 2 whole cloves
- 1.5 tsp cumin seeds
- 1.5 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp ground chilli adjust to your heat preference
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tomatoes, finely diced about 200-225g in total
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 100 ml water
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped to serve
- sea salt, to taste
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Start by mixing the lamb, yogurt and garam masala for the marinade together and cover and chill for up to 24 hours in the fridge. Don't skip this step as it really helps tenderise the meat.
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When ready to cook, set the IP to Sauté and when reads Hot, add the oil and all the whole spices (the bay, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin seeds and fennel seeds). Sizzle and cook briefly until the aromas are released.
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Add in the garlic and stir well before adding all the remaining powdered spices in. Allow the spices, garlic and oil to cook for a couple more minutes before stirring in the fresh tomatoes, tomato puree and water.
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Add in the marinated lamb and stir well before cancelling Sauté and placing the lid on. Set to Manual for 10 minutes and when done, allow a QPR.
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Remove the lid when the pressure has come down and press Sauté so you can reduce the sauce to your desired consistency. Stir only very gently as the lamb will be so tender it will fall apart if beaten! Add salt to taste - 1/2 tsp Malden sea salt is normally plenty for our tastes.
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If you can, allow the curry to cool then chill in the fridge overnight before reheating and serving, scattered with the fresh coriander if liked. I do this on the hob in a saucepan so I can use my IP to cook the rice to serve with it.
If your lamb is cut in larger chunks, the cooking time will be slightly longer. Also, bare in mind that lamb will vary in how tender it is with it's age etc so if yours isn't cooked to your liking after 10 minutes, then give it a couple more and check again.