lamb pasanda instant pot (mutton pasanda)

Lamb pasanda or mutton pasanda is a rich gravy cooked with lamb or mutton and the combination of rich masala paste and lamb makes it a Mughlai kind of gravy that has been passed on for years. I am making this recipe in an instant pot but the same can be made using the slow cook method or in a pressure cooker.

It is Indian Pakistani cuisine. Check out similar lamb or mutton recipes on the blog such as lamb do pyaza with mutton, mutton chops, pepper mutton, lamb karahi etc...

Jump to:

• About the recipe
• Ingredients
• Steps to make in an instant pot
• Recipe
• Varitions and Tips
• Faq's

About the recipe

Using lamb or any meat such as goat meat or any red meat that is available can be used to make this gravy based recipe. I am using lamb as I prefer to use lamb for most of my non-vegetarian recipes as the taste comes out amazingly well using this red meat.

This is a curry-based recipe perfect for rice, roti or parathas and I am using a lot of rich ingredients such as cardamom, almonds or badam, fried onions, yogurt as the base which are all blended into a fine paste and added as the base of the gravy.

The mutton pasanda is then cooked with the masala which infuses all the gravy flavours into the lamb and gives a juicy flavour to the whole dish.

I am trying to keep minimal ingredients for the masala gravy to make it in an instant pot and the dish turns out quite delicious.

Ingredients

Lamb: I am using lamb pieces that have a bone to them. It tastes good with a bone to the pieces and less tasty with boneless.

Using a fresh quality lamb is more important for a better taste. The meat should not be a frozen one to get the fresh juicy flavours when cooked. In normal Hindi language, it is referred to as 'gosht'.

Cashew nuts and almonds: I am using a paste of both these ingredients to get a rich gravy in the curry and it also gives a balanced flavor of sweet and sour flavor because of the other ingredients.

Deep-fried onions and yogurt: Adding onions that are deep-fried and then making a paste along with yogurt and adding to the gravy balances the sweet flavors of almonds and cashews.

Deep frying onions separately at home gives a better taste than using ready-made store-bought fried onions.

Spices: I am using whole spices that are whole garam masala during the tempering and then adding basic dry spices that are commonly added to the curry recipes such as salt and chilli powders.

Herbs: Using herbs such as cilantro leaves, mint leaves, green chillies etc... gives a fresh aroma to the pasanda gravy and adding freshly chopped is always recommended for any rich and creamy based gravies.

Pressure cook and slow cook procedure

• Take a pressure cooker or a cooking pot.
• Add whole spices such as cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon stick to oil.
• Add sliced onion of 1 medium size, saute them until golden brown, add ginger garlic paste and saute well.
• Add 500 gms of lamb pieces, roast well, add dry spices such as salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, mix well.
• Roast the masala well until oil appears at the sides.
• Add blended paste of almonds and cashews. No need to roast the nuts.
• Mix everything and cook the masala well for few minutes while stirring.
• Add the blended paste of fried onions (onions deep fried) and yogurt.
• Mix well.
• Cook the masala until oil appears at the sides.
• Cook for a few minutes.
• Add about 2 cups water, cilantro leaves, mint leaves, salt to taste, garam masala powder, kali mirch powder/pepper pwoder.
• Mix well.
• Close the lid.
• Pressure cook until the mutton gets tender and if slow cooking, allow the lamb to cook until tender and keep stirring in between.
• Switch off the flame and allow the pressure to release naturally.
• Check for the consistency and cook it uncovered for few minutes if the gravy is thin or switch off the flame and serve hot by garnishing with fried onions.

Steps to make in an instant pot

• Turn on the saute mode on high for the instant pot. When the screen shows hot, add the ingredients.

• add whole spices such as cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon stick to oil.
  • Add sliced onion 1 medium size, saute until golden brown, add 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste, saute well.

• Add 500 gms of mutton pieces, roast well on saute mode, add dry spices such as salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander seeds powder, mix well.

• Roast the masala well until oil releases. Use saute mode only and if timer goes off...Cancel and then switch on the saute mode again.

• Add the blended paste of almonds and cashew nuts. Add a little water to the nuts and make a fine paste.

• Mix everything and cook the masala well for few minutes while stirring.

• Add the blended paste of deep fried onions along with small cup yogurt.
  • Other way is to crush the onions and add directly into the curry and then beat some yogurt and add without blending.

• Mix well and cook the masala until oil releases. Cook for at least 10-12 minutes.

• Add water as per required consistency, chopped cilantro leaves, chopped mint leaves, salt to taste, garam masala powder, kali mirch powder/black peppercorn powder.

• Mix well. Close the lid of the instant pot. Set the steam release valve to sealing position. Do not ever forget to set to sealing position for pressure cooking the pasanda.

• Press the Pressure cook mode of the instant pot as shown.

• Set the timer to pressure cook for 20 minutes on high. If the meat is not a tender meat then increase the timer to two more minutes that is 22 minutes.

• When the timer is off after 20 minutes, naturally release the pressure. It takes about 10-15 minutes for the pressure to release completely.

• Lamb pasanda is done. Give a stir and serve hot.

Recipe

Varitions and Tips

This curry can be altered using other masala ingredients as well. For example, to make the gravy richer, adding roasted coconut paste too works well and gives a delicious gravy.

Combining coconut or melon seeds along with other mentioned masala ingredients gives a rich texture to the base of the lamb pasanda.

Check out some more international recipes from the blog for more recipes.

Faq's