Simple Lamb Curry (Pressure Cooker)

A simple Indian lamb curry.

Using tomato paste instead of fresh tomatoes and cooking the curry in a pressure cooker reduces the preparation time by at least half an hour.

Ingredients

• about 2 lb / 1 kg lamb stew meat (e.g. leg of lamb cut into 1 in / 2.5 cm cubes)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp peeled and minced ginger
• 3-4 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp garam masala
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, adjust to taste
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• ¼ cup / 60 ml white wine (or water)
• ½ cup / 125 ml yogurt (whole milk works best)
• 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
• a handful of cilantro, chopped

Preparation

1. Set pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil and onion. Cook until well browned. Stir frequently and adjust heat as necessary to prevent scorching.
2. Add minced garlic and ginger. Cook for a minute or two, taking care not to burn the garlic.
3. Stir in tomato paste. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add coriander, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and salt. Cook for 1 minute, stirring well.
5. Add the meat. Cook for a few minutes over medium-high heat until the lamb is well browned. Stir frequently and reduce the heat if necessary.
6. Add the white wine or water. Put the lid on the pressure cooker. Bring to high pressure, then reduce the heat and cook for 25-30 minutes. Release pressure.
7. Add fenugreek leaves. Turn up the heat and cook for a few minutes until the stew has reached the desired thickness.
8. Turn off heat. Slowly stir in the yogurt. Stir in the cilantro.
9. Adjust seasoning with salt. Serve.

Yields 4-6 servings

Preparation time about 60-90 minutes

Based on the recipe for Basic Pan-Roasted Lamb Curry (Bhunnae Gosht ki Kari) in Neelam Batra – 1,000 Indian Recipes. I replaced the tomatoes with tomato paste to reduce the preparation time, adjusted spice amounts to my taste and modified the pressure cooker instructions so that they work reliably with my pressure cooker.