March 13, 2017

Whole30 Lamb Curry in the Instant Pot

This is the second post in our Instant Pot Pressure Cooker recipe series. This counter top appliance is popular among our Whole30 community, and Whole30 compatible Instant Pot recipes are one of our most-requested resources on social media. Sarah Steffens, our in-house recipe creative, is sharing her favorite recipes for nourishing, delicious Instant Pot dishes—Whole30 compatible, of course!

A Beginner-Friendly Instant Pot Dish

Are you ever in a hurry to get a delicious and satisfying meal on the table? (Uh, is the sky blue?) No matter how demanding or pleasurable you may find cooking, certainly you can identify with the that feeling of dread that occurs when the question, “WHAT am I going to make for dinner?” floats through your head on a busy weekday.

[Tweet “Hurried Lamb Curry in your @instantpot… a #Whole30Recipe, today on the #Whole30 blog.”]

Enter the Instant Pot. You bought one based on it’s time-saving promises, and now you want to put it to the test by making all of the amazing Whole30 recipes you’ve seen circulating on the web.  Admittedly, this can be a bit intimidating, so may I recommend the following simple recipe for Hurried Lamb Curry? It doesn’t require any special steps and it tastes like it has been slow-cooking for hours and hours, but shhh…..you made it in just one hour, and everyone partaking of it is really happy.  Score another for the Instant Pot (and you)!

Hurried Lamb Curry

Ingredients
1.5 lbs. of organic lamb stew meat, fat trimmed and cut in 2” pieces
2 Tbs. of ghee
1 yellow onion, diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced in 1” pieces
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 tsp. of sea salt
2 Tbs. of curry powder
1 tsp. of dried garlic powder
2 cups of purified water (or Whole30 compatible bone broth)
Fresh cilantro, to garnish

Instructions

ADD all of your ingredients to your Instant Pot and stir well to combine with a baker’s spatula, keeping the sides of the Instant Pot clean (this keeps the sides from burning the little pieces of veggies, meats and spices that may have stuck to the Instant Pot when you place everything inside and mix it all up).

PLUG in your Instant Pot and place its lid on, making sure the steam valve is set to “Sealing.” Press the “Meat” button and ensure the time is programmed to 30 minutes. (My Instant Pot defaults to 35 minutes when I press “Meat” so I use the minus symbol button to adjust the time to 30 minutes.)

ONCE set to 30 minutes, the Instant Pot will begin cooking after a few seconds. You will hear it beep and the time will update to read “On.” This means that the Instant Pot is building pressure. You do not need to do anything while this is occurring. You can simply let the Instant Pot work its magic.

AFTER the Instant Pot reaches the pressure needed to cook your curry, the timer will go back to reading “30” minutes. It will count down to reflect the remaining cooking time, so you can see how many more minutes your curry is pressure-cooking.

WHEN it reaches 0 minutes, the timer will read “LO:00” and make a beeping noise. This means that it is done pressure-cooking and now is naturally releasing its pressure. Allow the timer to reach “LO:30” (it’s OK if it goes above 30, but wait until it reads at least 30) before switching the steam valve to “Venting” and releasing the lid. Because the pressure released naturally for 30 minutes, it will be very easy to remove the lid.  If it is ever difficult to remove the lid, do not attempt to remove it and allow it more time to release steam.  This is very important to remember!

YOUR Instant Pot will make a beeping noise when you open the lid. At this point, your lamb curry is done! Stir it with a wooden spoon and serve (be careful, the turmeric in the curry powder will stain fabric and fingertips!) between 4 bowls with some of its naturally occurring broth and garnish with fresh cilantro.

You can enjoy this dish right away or save it for a busy night; it’ll be good in the fridge for about three days. We hope you enjoy this second of four Instant Pot recipes!

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Sarah S.

Sarah Steffens

Sarah Steffens, our Recipe Developer, has a B.A. in Business Administration, Public Relations from The Master's University in Southern California. After years of experimenting with nutrition and recipes in her own kitchen, she now works as a Personal Chef and Food Photographer in Sacramento, creating meals that support her client's intention to physically and mentally thrive. She has catered several independent film sets, making it her goal to optimize the energy and well-being of each creative crew. You can find many of Sarah's recipes in various Whole30, Paleo and Keto cookbooks. When Sarah is not cooking and styling recipes, you can find her enjoying a long walk, working on creative projects with loved ones or exploring beautiful Northern California.