Instant Pot Lamb & Rice Casserole (Lamb Dum Biryani)

Name: Instant Pot Lamb & Rice Casserole (Lamb Dum Biryani)
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 3 dried red chiles; 1 (2-inch) Indian cinnamon stick (cassia bark), or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 2 dried bay leaves; 2 tablespoon coriander seeds; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds (from green/white pods); 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes; 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves; 1 cup basmati rice; 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt; 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion, plus 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced; 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro, plus ½ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems; 1/4 cup chopped mint; 1 serrano chile, seeded if desired, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled ginger; 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 1/4 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves; 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided; 1 pound lamb shoulder or leg, trimmed and cut into bite-size cubes; 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Instructions

Indian food has been prepared in stovetop pressure cookers for years. Indian home cooks have been using them for so long, so when it comes to writing Indian recipes for the Instant Pot, there's no translation needed. Biryani is usually worth the trouble (lots of cleanup; worrying about rice and lamb cooking to the right doneness at the same time; takes several hours). But on busy weeknights, try this version: it’s done in about an hour. You know how you make a traditional Indian lamb biryani? First, you get ready to dirty about six different pots in your kitchen. Next you obsess over the exact doneness of the rice. What is “50 percent done” or “75 percent done” rice, as traditional recipes ask you to gauge? Then you worry about the lamb not cooking as fast as the rice. Finally, six hours later, when your kitchen looks like a hurricane hit it, you pick up the phone and order pizza. Or you can make this stupid-simple recipe for an authentic biryani instead. Yes, the lamb will cook in the short time, as long as you marinate it and cut it into bite-size pieces. You can substitute beef for the lamb as well, if you like. This garam masala is the base of much of my Indian cooking. I’ve tried many different recipes, but this is Raghavan Iyer’s recipe (of 660 Curries fame), and he has been generous enough to allow me and all who cook from my recipes to use it. Everyone who has tried it will agree—store-bought garam masalas cannot hold a candle to this recipe. Trust my advice and take the ten minutes to make it. You’ll thank me. Excerpted from INSTANT POT FAST & EASY © 2019 by Urvashi Pitre. Photography © 2019 by Ghazalle Badiozamani. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Updated at: Tue, 12 Aug 2025 20:49:56 GMT