Rajasthani Banjara Mutton – Instant Pot Banjara Lamb Curry

Shilpa

This Rajasthani Banjara Mutton – Instant Pot Banjara Lamb Curry has a profound flavor that must be experienced to be fully recognized.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 50

Total Time 55

Servings: 4

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

1 and 1/2 pounds goat or lamb (either shoulder or leg pieces cut in about 2 to 3 inch pieces)
4 tbsp oil of choice
2 dried bay leaf (tej patta)
2 whole cloves (laung)
4 whole black peppercorns (pooree kaalee mirch)
3 whole dried red chili pepper
1/2 inch cinnamon stick piece (dalchini)
1 onion ( 1 and 1/2 cup finely chopped)
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
4 tbsp plain yogurt (whisked)
1 and 1/2 tbsp ground coriander (dhaniya powder)
2 tbsp kashmiri chili powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (haldi)
1 and 3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 whole serrano peppers (slit but still intact)

Select sauté on the instant pot and adjust to normal.
Add oil to the pot. When the oil is hot add in bay leaves, cloves, whole black peppercorns, whole dried red chili peppers, and cinnamon stick and let it sauté for a minute.
Add in onions and sauté. Let the onions turn golden, it should about 3 minutes. Keep stirring. Further add in the and ginger garlic paste and let it sauté for 30 seconds.
Add in the lamb pieces. Stir well and sauté for about 8 to 10 minutes until the lamb pieces turn brown.
Add in the whisked yogurt and mix well. Let it sauté for about 30 seconds to a minute.
Add in ground coriander, Kashmiri chili powder, ground turmeric, salt, and mix well. Sauté for a minute.
Add water. Make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pot and scrape the bottom of the pot well. Select cancel. Secure the lid on the pot and close the pressure-release valve. Select manual and cook at high pressure for 40 minutes. Let pressure release naturally.
When pressure is releasing dry roast 1 teaspoon coriander seeds on medium heat in a pan. Make sure not to burn them. They need to change color slightly to dark brown and not black. Transfer the roasted seeds to a mortar pestle and crush them.
Finally, when the pressure is up remove the lid and add crushed coriander seeds all over and give a gentle mix.
Transfer to a serving bowl, discard the bay leaves, garnish it with slit serrano peppers and enjoy with steamed white rice.

This recipe has been tried on a 6-quart instant pot. The proportions may vary depending on the size of the instant pot you choose to use.
All these spices can be easily found in an Indian store.
You can either use lamb or goat meat.
I buy the goat meat from an Indian grocery store and ask them to chop the shoulder to mid sized pieces. The mutton cut that I have used for this recipe is Bone-in shoulder. Shoulder takes long to cook since it is a sturdy meat. You can modify the cooking time to less depending on what type of goat meat you buy. Meat from the leg or breast cooks faster and you could reduce the pressure time to 35 minutes in case you choose those meat cuts.
Also every meat cut and quality is different. If its still hard after the 40 minutes you can add an additional 5 to 10 minutes to cook it tender.
The Kashmiri chili powder is added to attain the red color and is not very spicy. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate this recipe at a spice level of 3. So you can add or reduce the Kashmiri red chili powder accordingly.
Make sure to whisk the yogurt with a spoon or a whisk before adding it to the pot.
I have used mid sized to large pieces about 2 to 3 inch. If you use smaller pieces about 1/2 inch to 1.5 inches then you can reduce the pressure cooking time to 30 minutes.