Martha Stewart Living (September 2014)
We love our pressure cooker. Well, correction: We love the idea of our pressure cooker. We've used it on occasion -- for things like short ribs, chicken stock, even a Pork Vindaloo.
But we don't take nearly enough advantage of our pressure cooker. It's such a terrific shortcut to deep flavors and quickly make delicious dishes. Every time we do use it, we vow to utilize it more often in the future.
That's what got us excited about this Pressure Cooker Lamb Curry -- that, and, here on the cusp of Fall in our nation's capital, it seems like the perfect dish to make on a cool evening.
This curry is part of a really nice Martha Stewart Living feature on one-pot meals. Other dishes from the same feature also had our tongues wagging -- a Sweet-and-Spicy Brisket (it has apricots and figs), Braised Pork with Cabbage and Apples, even a leek-and-anchovy Soup au Pistou that we thought sounded delicious.
But we really wanted to try the Lamb Curry. If you have a pressure cooker, this recipe is a snap. (You could certainly do a version of this in a Dutch oven, but the cook time would be much, much longer.)
Even if you're not accustomed to cooking Indian food, this recipe is very straightforward, and the cooking process is really easy. And, again, thanks to the pressure cooker, it's super fast.
We made one big change to this recipe: To make it a bit healthier, we swapped in cauliflower in place of the fingerling potatoes. To our non-surprise, the cauliflower essentially dissolved completely in the pressure cooker. That was fine with us: It tasted great, and it made for a smoother, creamier broth. But if you want to use cauliflower, and you don't want it to fall apart, consider steaming it separately and then stirring it in with the lamb and broth just before serving. (That's what we did in the photo up top. Oh, speaking of the photo: We don't always set out to directly recreate a food magazine's photo. But the photo of this curry in Martha, which you can see below, was so beautiful that we pretty much copied its composure completely.)
This curry is flat-out delicious. The mix of Indian spices -- cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, cumin, turmeric -- is warm and comforting. The lamb is juicy and perfectly tender. Served with a dollop of yogurt, it's darn near perfect.
All in all, we loved it. And it's a great reminder of why we oughta be using our pressure cooker more often.
What about you? Any favorite pressure cooker recipes? Please share them with us two pressure cooker addicts in the making.
Lamb Curry
Martha Stewart Living (September 2014)
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(This photo: Jonathan Lovekin/Martha Stewart Living)
Prep: 30 mins | Total time: 55 mins
Servings: 8
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons safflower oil
2 onions, finely chopped (about 2 1/4 cups)
3 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger (from a 3-ounce piece)
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
Coarse salt
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
2 1/4 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 cardamom pods, crushed
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces
12 ounces baby fingerlings (or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bunch spinach, trimmed, washed well, and shaken to remove excess liquid (about 4 cups packed leaves)
Cilantro, yogurt, Indian pickle or chutney, and flatbread, for serving
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a 6-quart pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add onions, ginger, garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add cinnamon stick, cumin, coriander,turmeric, and cardamom. Cook, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 15 seconds more.
Add lamb, potatoes, and broth. Season with salt. Secure pressure-cooker lid and bring to high pressure over high heat. Reduce heat to medium to maintain high pressure. Cook 24 minutes; remove from heat. Vent pressure, then remove lid. Stir in spinach. Season with salt and serve with accompaniments.
